The Russian diesel deal now has a sanctions waiver behind it. The United States Treasury issued General License 135 on 9 October 2026, authorising imports of Russian-origin diesel until 7 April 2027. President Donald Trump said Russia would supply up to 4.8 million tonnes; only the first 300,000 carries no stated condition.
Trump announced the arrangement on Friday 9 October 2026 after a telephone call with President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin confirmed the call the same day and said Russia was willing to supply oil and petroleum products to the United States and to global markets. No signed text, delivery schedule or price has been published by either government.
What General License 135 Authorises
General License 135 permits trade in Russian diesel that American sanctions would otherwise block. A general license is a blanket authorisation issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United States Treasury unit that administers economic sanctions, and it applies automatically without anyone applying for individual permission.
The licence covers transactions related to the sale, delivery, offloading and importation of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin, including importation into the United States. It disapplies prohibitions under the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 587, and the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 589. It expires at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on 7 April 2027 and was signed by OFAC Director Bradley T. Smith. The Treasury said the licence was issued “at President Trump’s direction” to allow the supply of Russian diesel to the global market.
It is not a general lifting of sanctions. Paragraph (b) of the licence states that it does not authorise any debit to an account on the books of a United States financial institution belonging to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation or the Russian Ministry of Finance. Every other Russia-related restriction stays in place.
The Four Tranches, and Which One Is Firm
Of the four volumes Trump named, only the first was stated without a condition attached. The figures below are as he set them out; the 4.8 million tonne total is the sum of a ceiling, not a delivery schedule.
| Volume | Timing as stated | Condition attached |
|---|---|---|
| More than 300,000 tonnes | Immediately | None stated |
| 500,000 tonnes | November 2026 | None stated |
| 1,000,000 tonnes | Accounts differ: December 2026, or “immediately thereafter” | Timing unresolved |
| About 3,000,000 tonnes | “Within a short period of time” | Depends on the condition of Russia’s diesel refineries |
Outlets reported the third tranche differently. CBS News placed the 1 million tonnes in December 2026, while CNBC and Al Jazeera reported it as following immediately after the November volume. Neither government has published a schedule that settles the point.
Russia’s own export position complicates all four. Moscow banned diesel exports on 8 July 2026 after Ukrainian drone strikes on its refineries, and extended that ban to the end of October 2026. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last week that Russia might partially reopen exports if production exceeds domestic demand.
Which Markets the Waiver Covers
The licence changes American law only. A reader outside the United States should not assume Russian diesel has become generally tradeable.
- United States: Imports of Russian-origin diesel are authorised until 7 April 2027 under General License 135.
- European Union and United Kingdom: Import bans on Russian refined petroleum products, in force since 5 February 2023, remain fully in effect. The American licence does not alter them.
- Third-country shipping and insurance: Under the EU and UK regimes, shipowners, traders and insurers may carry or service Russian diesel to third countries only at or below the agreed price cap for premium refined products.
One question remains open in American law itself. The Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act of 2022, which wrote the import ban into statute, has not been repealed, and sanctions lawyers are debating whether an OFAC licence can authorise what a statute prohibits. Ship & Bunker, citing sanctions counsel Steve Simms of Simms Showers LLP, described the licence as a temporary executive waiver and advised caution for anyone buying or selling Russian diesel. That legal question has not been tested in court.
Why Diesel Prices Are This High
As of Friday 9 October 2026, the American Automobile Association put the United States national average for on-highway diesel at about $6.28 a gallon. That compares with roughly $3.68 a gallon a year earlier and an AAA record of $6.53 a gallon set on 22 September 2026. These are national averages for one country; individual pump prices vary widely by state, and the figure moves daily.
Three supply shocks sit behind the increase. Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel began strikes on Iran in February 2026; the strait normally carries about 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies. Attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, including an assault on facilities in the kingdom’s south, cut further into regional output. And Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries pushed Moscow to halt its own diesel exports, removing a major supplier from the market.
American diesel had already set a nominal record in September 2026. Russian diesel and gas oil exports fell to 190,000 barrels a day in the third quarter of 2026, from 690,000 in the second quarter and 850,000 in the first, according to Windward and Vortexa data reported by Al Jazeera. In the same quarter Russia imported gasoline, diesel and gas oil for the first time on that dataset.
Ukraine’s Defence Ministry says its strikes have destroyed more than half of Russia’s oil refining capacity. That is one side’s assessment and has not been independently verified. Putin has acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks cost Russia about 1% of gross domestic product.
What Analysts Say the Volumes Can Do
Energy analysts quoted since the announcement do not expect the volumes to move retail prices much, and several argue the cargoes would be redistributed rather than added.
Michael Lynch of the Energy Policy Research Foundation told Fortune the arrangement was “kind of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic”, reasoning that if the United States takes Russian diesel, Russia’s existing customers will not. Clayton Seigle of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said he did not think it would “be enough to materially lower prices in the United States or Europe”, but that it “does certainly let Moscow off the hook in terms of revenue squeeze”. Daniel Sternoff of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy said refined products remain “barely half of prewar levels” and that the deal “might take the edge off of prices, but it will not substantially lower them”.
The scale argument is arithmetical. Neil Atkinson, formerly head of oil markets at the International Energy Agency, noted that the United States consumes roughly 3.7 million barrels of diesel a day, and Chris Beauchamp of IG Group put global use near 30 million barrels a day. Wholesale markets did react on the day: the Financial Times reported that the New York Harbor wholesale diesel price fell about 4.5% to $4.67 a gallon on the announcement.
Who Has Objected
Ukraine objected first and most sharply. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the move a “weak decision by strong partners” and said “Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world.” The announcement came while American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were meeting Ukrainian and European negotiators in Miami.
In Washington, Democratic lawmakers criticised the decision, with Senator Richard Blumenthal urging the president to rescind the agreement. Trump framed the deal as a way to bring prices down before the congressional elections on 3 November 2026, writing that diesel prices “will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!” He gave no timeline. As of 10 October 2026, neither the European Union nor the United Kingdom had issued an official response.
What Is Still Unknown
Five things had not been established as of 10 October 2026.
- The agreement itself: No signed text, delivery schedule or price has been published by Washington or Moscow.
- The buyers: No American refiner or trading house has been named as taking the cargoes.
- Russia’s export ban: It still runs to the end of October 2026 and has not been formally lifted for these volumes.
- The statutory question: Whether the 2022 import ban statute permits imports under an OFAC licence is untested.
- Grade and destination: Seigle argued Russia is moving summer-grade diesel ahead of its own winter and Arctic-grade requirements, which would limit what the volumes do for Northern Hemisphere winter supply.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Russian Diesel Deal?
It is an arrangement announced by President Trump on 9 October 2026, after a call with President Putin, under which Russia would supply up to 4.8 million tonnes of diesel to the United States and global markets. The Treasury issued General License 135 the same day to permit the trade.
How Much Russian Diesel Is Actually Committed?
Only the first tranche of more than 300,000 tonnes was announced without a stated condition. The 500,000 tonnes for November carried no condition either, but the 1 million tonne tranche has an unresolved date and the 3 million tonne tranche was made contingent on the state of Russia’s refineries.
When Does the United States Waiver Expire?
General License 135 expires at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on 7 April 2027. Nothing in the licence commits the Treasury to extending or renewing it.
Can European Buyers Import Russian Diesel Under the Licence?
No. The licence disapplies United States sanctions only. European Union and United Kingdom bans on importing Russian refined petroleum products, in place since 5 February 2023, are unaffected.
Have Diesel Prices Fallen Since the Announcement?
Wholesale prices moved on the day, with the Financial Times reporting a fall of about 4.5% in New York Harbor diesel to $4.67 a gallon. Retail prices are a separate matter: AAA’s national average stood at about $6.28 a gallon on 9 October 2026, and analysts quoted since the announcement do not expect the volumes to lower pump prices materially.
