The US President Donald Trumpʼs administration is pressuring American companies to buy Russian diesel fuel, which is currently being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. However, businessmen are reluctant to take the risk of buying diesel from Russia.
This is reported by The Washington Sun, citing representatives of industry associations familiar with these conversations.
According to the source, commercial cargo owners have been trying to find buyers for several weeks, but American companies have not yet shown interest. Several sources confirmed that there were no guaranteed buyers at the time the tankers were loaded. Several oil industry representatives say Trumpʼs decision to ease sanctions came as a surprise to them.
Democrats in the House and Senate have sent letters to ports, banks and energy companies warning that dealings with Russian diesel shipments could lead to criminal liability. With Democrats poised to take control of the House and possibly the Senate after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, buyers of Russian fuel risk becoming targets of congressional investigations as early as next year.
The tankers are likely headed to US ports, but several industry analysts and energy sector officials expect the vessels could change their final destination to Brazil. Brazil has been buying significant amounts of Russian diesel fuel since the US imposed sanctions on Russia in 2022.
US-Russia diesel deal
On October 9, Donald Trump reported that he had reached an agreement with Putin to supply Russian diesel fuel to the American and global markets. To this end, Washington temporarily eased sanctions against Russian diesel.
Trump then explained this by saying that this agreement, together with US control of the Strait of Hormuz, would help to quickly lower diesel prices in the US and the world. According to Trump, Russia would initially supply 300 000 tons of fuel, followed by another 500 000 tons in November, and then another million tons.
The US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that one of the reasons for the agreements with Russia was to encourage the Kremlin to end the war against Ukraine.
On October 23, a tanker under the Maltese flag with 40,000 tons of Russian diesel left for New York.
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