WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s administration issues a month-long sanctions waiver allowing the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products that are at sea, extending an earlier move to soften surging energy prices.
The license, issued by the Treasury Department, comes two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would not renew the waiver.
The latest move allows for the purchase of oil and petroleum products that have been loaded onto any vessel as of Friday, through 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on May 16.
It prolongs an earlier easing of sanctions that expired on April 11.
On Wednesday, however, Bessent had told reporters that the United States would not make such an extension for Russian oil — or Iranian oil.
Both measures aimed to ease global supply shocks from the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Tehran retaliated by effectively closing off the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy shipments.
Oil prices have since surged, squeezing countries and especially those dependent on energy exports from the region.
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