Donald Trump’s decision to import Russian fuel to the United States marks a striking reversal from a position he held as recently as three weeks ago, according to BBC News analysis.
The BBC’s North America correspondent, Anthony Zurcher, reports that the president had just signed legislation authorising fresh American sanctions and tariffs on nations that import Russian oil and gas.
Mr Trump now says Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to supply hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel fuel to the US and world markets in the coming months.
The deal comes as Mr Trump continues to grapple with the political fallout of the Iran war and its impact on global energy prices, weeks before American voters head to the polls in the midterm elections.
The BBC reports that soaring fuel costs have soured the president’s standing with the public, who have been stung by higher prices at the pump and knock-on effects that led to across-the-board inflation.
Agricultural states that rely heavily on diesel to operate farming machinery and transport products to market have felt the toll of the war acutely, the BBC notes.
States such as Iowa, Kansas, Texas and Ohio have become unexpected political battlegrounds in elections that will determine whether Republicans maintain control of Congress.
For months, Mr Trump has searched for ways to ease his party’s political pain, the BBC reports. He recently pressured European allies to further tap their oil reserves, deferred federal taxes on the fuel and authorised supplies designated for farm use to be used in interstate trucking.
He has also promised not to renew attacks on Iran until after the midterms, an unusually frank acknowledgement of the conflict’s political impact.
The BBC notes that Mr Trump’s Truth Social posts often provide incomplete information, and the details of exactly how Russia will supply the fuel to the global market, and what it might receive in return besides much-needed hard currency, remain unclear.
The move opens Mr Trump to criticism from European allies and American politicians that his administration is now helping to fund the Russian war machine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the deal a “gift” to Putin that Russia would “repay” with “terror and perfidy”.
“Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged,” he wrote on X.
The BBC reports it is also uncertain how much the move will help Republicans at the ballot box. The promised European diesel release has not moved energy prices significantly, and there is no information on the speed with which Russian fuel could enter the market.
Russia’s diesel refinery capacity has been damaged by repeated Ukrainian strikes, attacks that Mr Trump has encouraged Mr Zelensky to curtail.
The US uses approximately 3.6 million barrels of diesel a day, the BBC reports, so even if Russia delivers its promised 300,000 tons this month, that amounts to approximately half of the US daily consumption.
Americans may not notice much of an immediate difference, according to the BBC.
With less than a month before November’s midterm elections, early voting has already started in many states, and the political cake is all but baked.
“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” Mr Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
But over the past seven months, prices on energy, fuel and consumer goods have only gone up, even as Mr Trump and his officials have repeatedly assured an uneasy public that a successful resolution to the war, and an easing of its economic impact, is nearly at hand.
The BBC reports Mr Trump may be left hoping his latest deal, setting aside its potentially uncomfortable diplomatic issues, will convince American voters that his promise of impending economic relief is more than empty words.
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