The Trump administration is delivering a string of victories — for the Russian economy.
Within weeks of waiving sanctions on Russian diesel, President Donald Trump waived sanctions on Russia’s trading partners, prompting a fresh wave of GOP pushback that is building by the hour.
“I want to see those used,” Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said earlier Monday.
Neither waiver is projected to have much long-term effect on US prices. But one expert estimated the diesel waiver alone could help Russian exporters net $30 to $40 more per ton, in turn padding Moscow’s tax revenue.
The UK last year estimated that global sanctions had previously deprived Russia of $450 billion in war funds, including $154 billion in lost oil revenue and $285 billion in frozen central bank reserves.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Semafor both waivers were necessary to “see this brutal war [in Ukraine] come to an end,” echoing an argument Trump made on Truth Social.
“Enforcing the sanctions provisions now would impede ongoing US efforts to negotiate a durable and comprehensive peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia,” Rogers said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, has argued that the latest waiver did not provide Russia with sanctions relief because “no sanctions were lifted.”
“There is a 60-day period so we can examine what’s going on,” he told NBC News.