Trump's Russian Diesel Deal Faces Firestorm as Oct. 18 Sanctions Deadline Nears
WASHINGTON — With just three days left before a sweeping new Russia sanctions law takes effect, President Donald Trump's controversial deal to import Russian diesel is under attack from both parties in Congress — and the administration's own envoy says a final decision on how to apply the law is coming "in the next few days."
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, signed last month, sets an October 18 deadline for the president to raise duties to as much as 100 percent on goods from the largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas that continue buying after the deadline — or waive the measures by certifying to Congress that a waiver serves the national interest.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said at the Bloomberg New Economy forum that Trump must make a determination within roughly 10 days, noting the president has not yet invoked the law against any country. The measure passed the Senate with 86 votes, and Gor said a trade deal with India is nearing completion despite the uncertainty.
Opposition has hardened since the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on Friday, authorizing transactions involving Russian-origin diesel through April 2027.
A bipartisan letter from 12 senators — including Republicans Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Mike Rounds, Lisa Murkowski, and John Cornyn, alongside Democrats Richard Blumenthal, Jeanne Shaheen, and Dick Durbin — called the diesel deal "a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our allies," urging Trump to rescind it and enforce the sanctions law. Blumenthal said the deal "betrays American security interests and brave Ukrainians fighting Putin's bloody slaughter."
In the House, Indian-American Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi accused Trump of rewarding Putin "with a Russian diesel deal while pressuring Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil facilities," calling the arrangement "illegal, ineffective, and no substitute for ending Trump's Iran war." Rep. Greg Stanton called the plan "likely illegal," Rep. Mike Levin called it "a lifeline for Russia's war machine," and Rep. James Clyburn labeled it "a mistake." One estimate cited by Levin puts roughly $4 billion of American money flowing into Russia's economy.
Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick pledged to push a House vote banning Russian oil purchases, while Rep. Don Bacon signed a related petition.
Trump, asked Tuesday whether anyone warned him Russia could use the proceeds to buy more bombs, replied: "No, nobody told me anything." The White House has said the diesel would flow onto the global market rather than directly to the United States.
Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev defended the deal on X, claiming it had already produced a 5 percent decline in diesel prices benefiting US farmers and consumers — though he did not explain his methodology. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Monday that Russia could return diesel exports to levels above what Trump outlined.
The deadline forces a collision between Trump's energy diplomacy and a bipartisan sanctions consensus, with Ukraine's president calling the deal "a birthday present for Putin." Whether Trump imposes the tariffs, issues a waiver, or carves out exemptions will define US pressure on Moscow — and on major Russian-energy buyers such as India and China — in the months ahead.
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