The Trump administration has issued a month-long sanctions waiver allowing the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products already at sea, extending an earlier relaxation of restrictions amid surging global energy prices.
India has been among the major beneficiaries of these waivers.
The license, issued by the United States Department of the Treasury, came two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would not renew waivers for Russian or Iranian oil.
The order permits transactions involving oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels as of Friday through 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on May 16. It replaces and supersedes General License No. 134A, which expired on April 11, with General License No. 134B.
The US had earlier granted a series of temporary exemptions, including a one-month waiver beginning March 5 allowing India to purchase Russian oil, followed by similar permissions for other countries. These exemptions also ended on April 11. India has been among the major beneficiaries of the waivers.
The latest general licence does not authorise any transactions involving persons, entities or joint ventures in Iran, North Korea, Cuba or parts of Ukraine.
The move follows heightened volatility in global energy markets after disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which intensified after Tehran’s retaliation to the US-Israeli war against Iran. The developments pushed up oil prices and US gasoline costs, adding pressure on households ahead of key midterm elections.
The waiver also comes amid concerns in Western capitals over continued Russian oil revenues funding its war in Ukraine, launched in 2022 and now the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.
Following a Group of Seven finance ministers’ meeting in Washington, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said "Russia mustn't be getting benefits from what's happening in Iran," adding that Ukraine should not be "collateral damage."
The Treasury order stated: “Effective April 17, 2026, General License No. 134A, which was dated March 19, 2026 and expired on April 11, 2026, is replaced and superseded in its entirety by this General License No. 134B.”.