The United States will not extend a temporary waiver that allowed the sale of Russian oil and Iranian oil already at sea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday, signaling a tighter sanctions approach.“We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil,” Bessant said at a press briefing. Clarifying the scope of the earlier relief, he added: “That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11, so all that has been used.”The decision comes a day after the Treasury Department indicated it would also not renew a similar waiver on Iranian oil, reinforcing Washington’s “maximum pressure” approach amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict. The earlier waivers had been introduced to cushion global supply disruptions triggered by the war and Iran’s move to effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments.The waiver had allowed India to continue purchasing Russian oil, particularly as disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz left several vessels stranded at sea.Oil prices have surged since the conflict escalated, pushing up fuel costs worldwide, including in the United States. The temporary waivers were designed as short-term stabilization measures, allowing limited transactions involving oil already loaded onto vessels before specified deadlines.In March, the US had issued a 30-day license permitting the delivery and sale of Russian crude loaded before March 12, with the waiver expiring on April 11. A similar relaxation for Iranian oil, covering shipments loaded before March 20, is set to expire on April 19 and will also not be extended.Explaining the rationale behind the move, Bessent had earlier said: “To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil. This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.“The waivers had allowed countries like India to secure additional supplies, with reports suggesting Indian refiners placed orders for roughly 30 million barrels of Russian oil during the period. Major refiners had earlier reduced purchases from Russian firms such as Rosneft and Lukoil following sanctions.Despite their stated objective, the waivers drew sharp criticism from opposition Democrats in the US. Senator Richard Blumenthal said: “No way the Russia sanctions waiver should be extended. Trump’s waiver has handed Russia an extra $150 billion a day to fuel its murderous war machine killing & kidnapping Ukrainian kids—while it aids Iran with intelligence to target our troops.”Other Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also opposed the policy, calling it “dangerous” and urging the administration to reverse course.“In addition to flouting notification requirements to Congress under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act before relaxing sanctions on the Kremlin, Secretary Bessent characterized the license as a temporary and ‘short term’ measure that would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government,” the senators said in a joint statement.“But Russia’s decision to cancel its planned budget cuts demonstrates that, as we warned, Russia is directly benefiting from the administration’s sanctions relief. It is incumbent on the Trump Administration to reverse this dangerous policy, ensure that Russia does not reap any additional benefit and prevent the United States from further boosting Putin’s war machine,” they added.
