The Trump administration on Friday renewed a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a month, even as lawmakers accused the government of going easy on Moscow as its war on Ukraine grinds on, Reuters reports.
The Treasury Department's waiver lets countries purchase Russian oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16. It replaces a 30-day waiver that expired on April 11 and excludes transactions involving Iran, Cuba and North Korea.
The move is part of the administration's effort to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. It came after countries in Asia, suffering from the global energy shock, pressed Washington to allow alternative supplies to reach markets.
"As negotiations (with Iran) accelerate, Treasury wants to ensure oil is available to those who need it," a Treasury Department spokesperson said.
Just two days earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would not be renewing the waiver for Russian oil and another for Iranian oil, which is set to expire on Sunday.
Global oil prices tumbled 9% on Friday to about $90 a barrel after Iran temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, an oil choke point in the Gulf. But the war has already created the worst global energy supply disruption in history, the International Energy Agency has said.
The war, which enters its eighth week on Saturday, has damaged more than 80 oil and gas facilities in the Middle East, and Tehran has warned it could close the strait again if the recent U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports continued.
High oil prices are a threat to President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans ahead of November's midterm elections.
Trump has also faced pressure from partner countries on the oil price. A U.S. source said partner countries on the sidelines of Group of 20, World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington this week had requested the U.S. extend the waiver. And he spoke about oil this week in a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, a big purchaser of Russian oil.
The waiver on Iranian oil, which the Treasury Department issued on March 20, allowed about 140 million barrels of oil to reach global markets and helped relieve pressure on energy supply, Bessent said last month.
