The general license Treasury issued on Oct. 9 for Russian diesel was not the first break the Trump administration has given Russian fuel this year. It is the latest in a run of Russia sanctions waivers that began in March, when Treasury let Russian oil already at sea reach India. That oil waiver was later widened to the whole market and renewed, once just two days after the Treasury secretary said it would not be.
Where it stands: General License 135, the diesel permit, stays valid until April 7, 2027. The Associated Press called it “the first such license to ease sanctions on diesel for a period lasting longer than the standard 30-day window since the start of the Ukraine war.” What happened to the spring oil waiver after June 17 is not clear from any source we could find.
Each easing came with the same stated goal: relief from fuel prices pushed up by the Iran war. NBC News, looking back on Oct. 9, said the spring waivers “expired and largely did not impact the trajectory of oil and gas prices, which have continued rising for months.”
Russia sanctions waivers in 2026: the dated timeline
The table lists each license we could document, with the dates as published by the law firm Baker McKenzie, Senate offices, wire services and Treasury’s own wording as quoted by the press.
| Date | Action | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Mar. 5 | GL 133 issued | Russian oil loaded before Mar. 5 may be delivered to India, until Apr. 4 |
| Mar. 12 | GL 134 issued | Same relief worldwide, for cargoes loaded before Mar. 12, until Apr. 11 |
| Spring | GL 134A | Named in an April House bill; issue date not found |
| Apr. 17 | GL 134B | Renewal covering oil loaded as of mid-April |
| May 16 | 134B lapses | Expired before a replacement was issued |
| May 18 | GL 134C | Oil at sea on or before Apr. 17, through June 17 |
| After June 17 | Unknown | No source found on an extension or replacement |
| Oct. 9 | GL 135 | Russian-origin diesel, including import into the U.S., through Apr. 7, 2027 |
March: India first, then the whole market
The first license was narrow. According to Baker McKenzie, General License 133 covered Russian crude and petroleum products bound for India “that were loaded onto vessels before 12:01 am ET on March 5, 2026,” and it expired on April 4, 2026. Ship & Bunker tied it to the Iran conflict disrupting tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described it as a short-term step designed to “alleviate pressure caused by” the Iran war, covering oil “already stranded at sea,” Baker McKenzie recorded. Energy Secretary Chris Wright defended it on CBS as pragmatic and said: “We’re not helping Russia by just accelerating the sale of their oil to stop the rise of energy prices and keep European and Asian refineries in oil.”
A week later the relief went global. OFAC issued General License 134 on March 12, 2026, extending it beyond India for oil and products loaded before that date, through April 11, 2026.
Democrats objected at once. Rep. Sam Liccardo and Sen. Ruben Gallego wrote to Bessent that the waiver was “dangerous, self-defeating, and indefensible.” Gallego’s office argued Treasury acted “despite a law requiring 30 days’ notice to Congress” before licenses that significantly change U.S. policy toward Russia.
April: a renewal two days after “We will not be renewing”
On April 9, House Democrats Meeks and Keating filed H.R. 8222, the End Russian Oil Windfalls Act, which names General License 134A among the licenses it targets. We found nothing showing the bill moved.
The next day, six Democratic senators, including Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, urged Treasury to let the waiver lapse. Their release said the relief was “reportedly providing Russia an extra $150 million per day in budget revenues from oil sales” and that “oil prices have not meaningfully declined.”
Treasury renewed it anyway. On April 17, Senate Banking Committee Democrats said the extension came just two days after Bessent told a White House press conference: “We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil.” The same statement said: “Russia saw oil revenues nearly double in March.” The AP later summed up the spring this way: Treasury extended the easing “even though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had ruled out such a move earlier in the year.”
May and June: a lapse, then General License 134C
On May 5, Sen. Michael Bennet and 14 colleagues wrote that the renewal “flies in the face of” a requirement in the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act to notify Congress 30 days before such a licensing action. Their letter said Bessent himself had acknowledged Russia’s financial gain as regrettable, and that the renewal “also allows the sale of oil on ships that had been loaded as of mid-April.”
Then the license ran out. OFAC’s order, as quoted by India’s PTI, said General License No. 134B “expired on May 16, 2026” and that, effective May 18, 2026, it was “replaced and superseded in its entirety by this General License No. 134C.” The replacement covered cargoes already afloat by April 17 and ran until June 17.
Reuters reported that it was “the second time the Treasury has allowed the sanctions waiver to lapse and subsequently extend it.” Bessent, announcing the new license on social media, said it would “ensure oil reaches the most energy-vulnerable countries.”
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What prices did while the waivers ran
The waivers were pitched as price relief. The reporting and data we found do not show that relief arriving.
In mid-May, Reuters wrote that the waivers “have done little to reduce oil prices, but have aided India.” The Energy Information Administration recorded that on March 30, while the first licenses were in force, U.S. diesel averaged $5.40 per gallon, which EIA said was its highest inflation-adjusted level in more than two years. By September, EIA said, retail diesel averaged $6.29/gal. AAA had diesel at a record $6.52 on Sept. 22, the AP reported.
The diesel license brought a brief market move. NBC reported that diesel futures fell 4% on the day Trump announced the deal, while staying more than 110% above where they began 2026. How much the promised Russian volumes could move pump prices is the subject of our look at Russian diesel and fuel prices.
October: how the diesel license breaks the pattern
General License 135 differs from the spring licenses in three ways visible in the text quoted by NBC.
It covers diesel rather than crude and petroleum products generally. It runs for roughly six months instead of about 30 days. And it names the U.S. as a destination: the document authorizes “the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation, including importation into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin.” The spring licenses, as Baker McKenzie and PTI described them, dealt with oil already loaded or at sea. The GL 135 text quoted by the press contains no such loading-date condition, though the AP described it as covering diesel “loaded onto tankers as of Friday,” meaning Oct. 9.
That last change is the one critics in both parties say runs into the 2022 import-ban law, a claim the administration rejects; we set out both sides in our legal explainer. It also landed three weeks after President Trump signed a new sanctions law with an Oct. 18 deadline, covered in our piece on the Sanctioning Russia Act. For what was announced on Oct. 9, see our explainer on the diesel deal.
On its own terms, the diesel license lapses one minute after midnight Eastern time on April 7, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times has Trump eased Russia oil sanctions in 2026?
We count General Licenses 133, 134, 134A, 134B and 134C on Russian oil in the spring, and General License 135 on Russian diesel on Oct. 9. Two of the renewals came after the previous license had lapsed or after officials said it would not be renewed.
Did the spring Russia oil waivers lower prices?
Reporting says no. NBC News said the spring waivers largely did not change the trajectory of oil and gas prices, and Reuters wrote in May that they did little to reduce oil prices. EIA data show retail diesel averaged $6.29/gal in September.
What did Bessent say about renewing the Russia oil waiver?
According to Senate Banking Committee Democrats, Bessent told a White House press conference in April that Treasury would not renew the license. It was renewed two days later.
Is the waiver for Russian oil still in effect?
General License 134C ran through June 17. We found no source on whether it was extended after that. General License 135 for Russian diesel is a separate license and runs through April 7, 2027.
How is the diesel license different from the earlier waivers?
It covers diesel only, lasts about six months rather than about 30 days, and expressly authorizes importation into the United States. The AP called it the first diesel license longer than the standard 30-day window since the Ukraine war began.
Sources
- Temporary OFAC General Licenses Authorize Transactions Involving Russian Origin Crude Oil and Petroleum — Baker McKenzie Global Sanctions and Export Controls, March 2026
- US Grants 30-Day Window for Russian Oil Deliveries to India Amid Iran Conflict — Ship & Bunker, March 2026
- Congressional Democrats demand reversal of Russian oil sales into India as energy prices soar — Office of Rep. Sam Liccardo (reprint of CNBC), March 9, 2026
- Gallego Slams the Administration for Financing Putin While He Helps Target U.S. Servicemembers — Office of Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), March 11, 2026
- Shaheen, Blumenthal, Colleagues Call on Trump Administration to End Putin’s Oil Profit Windfall Ahead of Tomorrow’s Sanctions Waiver Deadline — Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Democrats), April 10, 2026
- H.R. 8222 — End Russian Oil Windfalls Act (Introduced in House) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), April 9, 2026
- Warren, Shaheen, Schumer Statement on Trump Administration Extending Sanctions Relief for Russian Oil — Senate Banking Committee (Minority), April 17, 2026
- Bennet Leads 14 Colleagues to Demand Trump Administration Resume Russian Oil Sanctions — Office of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), May 5, 2026
- US Extends Sanctions Waiver For Russian Oil Already At Sea — PTI (via ETV Bharat), May 19, 2026
- US allows 30 more days of Russian oil to support energy-vulnerable states — Reuters (via Baird Maritime), May 18, 2026
- Crude oil and petroleum product prices increased sharply in the first quarter of 2026 — U.S. Energy Information Administration (Today in Energy), April 7, 2026
- Short-Term Energy Outlook — U.S. Energy Information Administration, October 6, 2026
- Trump says Putin will release diesel fuel into global market — NBC News, October 9, 2026
- Trump says U.S. to get diesel from Russia, relaxing pressure on Moscow to ease prices before midterms — NPR (The Associated Press), October 9, 2026
- US Lifts Sanctions on Russian Diesel for Six Months After Trump-Putin Call — Ship & Bunker, October 9, 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.