The exemptions, which were issued by the #Treasury Dept, will be in place until April 11. Treasury Secy Scott Bessent estimated that freeing Russian #oil could add hundreds of millions of barrels of crude to global markets [& enrich #Russia], curbing prices that have been hovering near $100 per barrel as a result of the #Iran #war.

The decision was a significant turning point in America’s effort to punish Russia for its war in #Ukraine.

#TrumpsWar #Trump #law #geopolitics #inflation #economy

#Russia has faced punishing #sanctions from the #US & the rest of the #G7 advanced economies since Moscow’s invasion of #Ukraine in 2022. Those sanctions have included a price cap on Russian #oil & a crackdown on Russia’s “shadow fleet” of unmarked vessels…used to evade sanctions.

As #TrumpsWar with #Iran has unfolded, his admin has looked for ways to mitigate the economic pain. His admin temporarily freed Russian oil last week that was sitting at sea to be delivered to India.

#war #Trump

…Top #Senate #Democrats assailed the #Trump admin for easing #sanctions on #Russia, saying that it was done to mitigate a #war of Trump’s own making.

“This war has resulted in huge spikes in gas prices for Americans, who are now paying more at the pump than at any point in either of President Trump’s two terms,” they wrote in a joint statement.

#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #Ukraine #inflation #economy #affordability #CostOfLiving #oil
banking.senate.gov/newsroom/mi…

Senate Democratic Leaders Release Joint Statement on Trump Administration's Weakening of Sanctions on Russian Oil in Attempt to Dampen Economic Impacts of Trump's Iran War | United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

The Official website of The United States Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

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The lifting of #oil #sanctions represents a sharp reversal from last summer, when the admin doubled #tariffs on #India as punishment for its purchases of oil from #Russia.

“In one fell swoop we’ve undone a huge amount of pressure on Russia,” said Edward Fishman, a senior fellow & director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

#TrumpsWar #US #Iran #war #Ukraine #Trump #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #inflation #economy #energy

About 130 million barrels of Russian #oil is currently at sea….

The move by the #Trump admin could further divide the #US & #Europe, which has been skeptical of Trump’s attack on #Iran & has expressed a desire to continue to exert economic pressure on #Russia.
Fishman said he did not think that easing the Russia oil #sanctions would lower prices, noting that the move last week to let Russian oil be delivered to India did not have any impact.

#TrumpsWar #Ukraine #law #geopolitics #economy

He noted that the price of Russian #oil had been rising since the #war in #Iran started, & that it was likely that the #sanctions relief could be extended indefinitely.

“I do worry that this is effectively the destruction of the oil sanctions on #Russia,” said Mr. Fishman….

#TrumpsWar #US #ForeverWars #Trump #Ukraine #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast #inflation #economy #affordability #CostOfLiving #energy #EnergyCrisis