US President Donald Trump is facing mounting criticism over a plan to import diesel from Russia, as the war with Iran continues to push global energy prices higher.
Trump said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately “to the American and global marketplace”, with further shipments to follow.
The arrangement comes only weeks after Trump signed legislation authorising new US sanctions and tariffs on nations that import Russian oil and gas. Some Republican and Democratic lawmakers say the diesel deal breaches US law.
Shipment schedule
Under the plan outlined by Trump, Russia would supply 500,000 tonnes in November and a further one million tonnes after that.
Another three million tonnes would follow “within a short period”, depending on the condition of Russian refineries, which have been attacked by Ukraine during the war between the two countries.
“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed the figures to Tass, the country’s state-owned news agency, and said export volumes could reach three million tonnes a month in future.
Senators urge Trump to ‘reverse course’
A group of seven senators — four Republicans and three Democrats — said on Sunday that the deal violated US laws and urged Trump to “reverse course”.
“The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians,” the lawmakers said, adding that Congress had “explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine”.
The statement was signed by Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Curtis, along with Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the deal a gift to Putin and said it amounts to “an investment in a war that must be ended”.
It is understood the US Treasury is suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports until 7 April as part of the agreement, while other assets, including those held in American banks, remain frozen.
Support for the deal
Opposition is not universal. Republican Thomas Massie, who has clashed with Trump on a number of issues, said the US should lift sanctions on all petroleum products.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News the agreement would work through existing legal channels the US has to bring prices down, and said anyone in Congress who claimed otherwise was wrong.
Prices and midterm politics
Global fuel prices have soared since the US-Israel war with Iran began at the end of February, with the fighting severely disrupting supplies of crude oil — a key ingredient in petrol and diesel.
Rising prices have become a key issue for Americans ahead of next month’s midterm elections, which will determine whether Trump’s Republican Party keeps control of Congress.
Polls show a majority of Americans disapprove of his handling of the economy and the war in Iran.
US agricultural states, which rely heavily on diesel to run farming machinery and to transport products to market, have felt the strain acutely.
The average US diesel price is currently $6.28 (£4.74) a gallon, according to the AAA, down from the record high of $6.53 recorded at the end of September.
Analysts have questioned whether Russia is capable of providing that quantity of diesel and the extent to which doing so will ease prices for American consumers.
The US uses approximately 3.6 million barrels of diesel a day, so even if Russia delivers its promised 300,000 tonnes this month, that amounts to approximately half of US daily consumption.
International criticism
Trump also faces opposition abroad. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting are among the international leaders to have criticised the deal. Streeting said the US and other allies of Ukraine should focus on ramping up pressure on Russia to end the war.
Meanwhile, Trump announced on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had reached an “energy ceasefire”, but gave no further details. Zelensky welcomed the move, while Moscow issued no response.
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