Russian Diesel Faces U.S. Buyer Resistance Despite Trump Sanctions Waiver

HOUSTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) – US companies are unlikely to import Russian diesel as a tanker full of the fuel idles off the US Eastern Seaboard, experts said, despite President Donald Trump’s temporary waiver of some sanctions on Moscow’s fuel exports.

Banks are likely to be reluctant to finance US deals for Russian diesel, the experts said, noting there are legal questions about whether the president’s waiver is enough to allow for the imports. There are also operational challenges, because importers would need to blend the Russian diesel to meet US heating oil specifications.

US lawmakers from both parties objected last month, when Trump temporarily waived parts of a law that slapped Moscow with sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine. Former President Joe Biden imposed the sanctions after the 2022 invasion, and Congress later backed them and codified them as law.

Looking to lower diesel prices that spiked during the US-Israeli war on Iran, Trump’s plan would allow Russia to immediately export 300,000 tons, or 2.25 million barrels, of diesel to US and global markets. This would be followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.”

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