A dozen US senators, six of them Republicans, urged President Donald Trump to rescind his diesel deal with Russia. The letter lands days before the administration must decide on new sanctions against Moscow, and it marks a shift from Republicans' near-unanimous support for Trump's foreign policy.
A dozen US senators, including six Republicans, called on Trump on Tuesday to rescind his diesel deal with Russia, days before his administration must decide whether to formally impose new sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
The lawmakers' letter said the agreement gives Putin's government more fuel to finance its war and will not benefit Americans. According to Reuters, the senators wrote that the deal is "a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies".
Republican support for Trump's foreign policy shifts
The president announced the deal on Friday. In his post, he said he was lifting sanctions on Russian diesel exports and that Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons (2.25 million barrels) of diesel to US and global markets.
Although he said he wanted to reduce prices, that amount is less than a day's supply for the US transport sector alone, according to US Energy Information Administration data showing daily use of around 2.94 million barrels per day.
The resistance marks a shift from near-unanimous Republican support for Trump's foreign policy decisions, and it arrives weeks before the November 3 midterm elections. Republicans Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Alan Armstrong, Lisa Murkowski and John Cornyn signed the letter alongside six Democrats.
October 18 sanctions deadline approaches
Under a law Trump signed last month, he faces an October 18 deadline to impose sweeping new sanctions and tariffs on Russian energy, or to waive them by determining that doing so is in the national interest. The letter urges him to use the authorities in the "Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026".
The administration has not yet told lawmakers whether it will impose the sanctions or issue a waiver.
Asked on Tuesday whether anyone had told him Russia could use proceeds from the deal to buy more bombs, Trump said nobody had told him that. Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday that Russia will be able to return diesel exports to levels above those Trump outlined.
Source: Reuters via Investing.com
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