US Lets Waiver On Russian Oil Sanctions Lapse

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Bernama-dpa) -- The United States has allowed a waiver that had eased sanctions on Russian oil amid rising energy prices caused by the Iran war to lapse, reported German news agency dpa.

In April, the US Treasury issued a waiver authorising the delivery and sale of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels as of April 17. The waiver was set to expire on Saturday. As of late on Saturday, no amended orders appeared on the agency's website.

Russia's oil sector has been targeted by US sanctions for years. With the April exemption, Washington sought to calm global energy markets. The US had already granted such a waiver in mid-March, which expired on April 11.

Critics said the measure strengthened Russia financially. The Kremlin uses revenue from the oil industry to finance its war against Ukraine.

Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren on Friday had called on the Trump administration not to extend the waiver.

"Treasury must finally end its ill-conceived policy of helping Russia make even more money from President [Donald] Trump’s reckless war in Iran," they said in a joint statement.

The senators also said there was no sign that the measure was reducing costs for US families, pointing to petrol prices in the country.

Petrol prices in the US have risen significantly since the start of the Iran war. On Saturday, Americans paid an average of US$4.52 per gallon (3.785 litres), according to a breakdown by the automobile association AAA. At the start of the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, the average price was US$2.98 per gallon.

--BERNAMA-dpa