Days after the US asserted that it would not renew the waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products at sea, the Donald Trump administration did a U-turn and allowed it late on Friday.
On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said that the US would not be renewing the waiver for Russian oil and another for Iranian oil. “We will not be renewing the general licence on Russian oil and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil. That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11. So, all that has been used,” Bessent had said at a White House press conference.
However, the Treasury Department posted the licence to its website on Friday, allowing countries to purchase Russian oil loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16. The licence is part of the Trump administration’s effort to boost global oil supply and control energy prices, and it replaces a 30-day waiver that expired on April 11. It, however, excludes transactions involving Iran, Cuba and North Korea.
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India was among the major beneficiaries of the waivers, with New Delhi ordering approximately 30 million barrels of Russian oil. The US had, in fact, asked India to buy Russian oil to "tamp down" concerns over supply shortages and price surge.
India's crude oil purchases from Russia more than tripled to 5.3 billion euro in March this year, as volumes doubled and rising oil prices pushed up the import bill.
Said the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a European think tank: "India was the second-highest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in March 2026, importing a total of EUR 5.8 billion of Russian hydrocarbons. Crude oil products constituted 91 per cent of India's purchases, totalling EUR 5.3 billion."
In February, India was the third largest importer, purchasing Russian hydrocarbons worth 1.8 billion euro. Crude oil constituted the largest share at 81 per cent (EUR 1.4 billion), followed by coal (EUR 223 million) and oil products (EUR 121 million). The current move is expected to provide major relief to India amid oil and energy concerns due to the Iran-US-Israel war.
