Summary of this article
The US administration under Donald Trump issued a 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil already loaded on vessels before March 5, 2026.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the short-term measure will keep global oil supply stable amid rising tensions with Iran.
Washington expects India to increase imports of US energy going forward after earlier tariff disputes over Russian oil purchases.
The US said that it is granting a temporary 30-day waiver to permit Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil amid the escalating confrontation with Iran.
"President Trump's energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday.
He said this "deliberately short-term measure" will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.
"India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of U.S. oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran's attempt to take global energy hostage,” Bessent said in a post on X.
The government claimed that Delhi's purchases of Russian oil were fuelling Russia's conflict against Ukraine, and US President Donald Trump placed 25 per cent punitive tariffs on the country.
The US and India announced last month that they had reached a framework for an interim trade agreement, and Trump issued an Executive Order lifting the 25 per cent punitive tariffs on India, citing New Delhi's pledge to increase its purchases of American energy products and cease importing energy from Moscow.
A statement from the Department of Treasury titled 'Authorizing the Delivery and Sale of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products of Russian Federation Origin Loaded on Vessels as of March 5, 2026 to India' said that "all transactions prohibited...that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Russian Federation origin loaded on any vessel, including vessels blocked under the above listed authorities, on or before 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time, March 5, 2026 are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, April 4, 2026, provided that the delivery or offloading of such crude oil or petroleum products occurs at a port" in India and the purchaser of such crude oil or petroleum products is an entity organised under the laws of India.
The Treasury Department's general licence stated that it does not permit any other transactions or activities that are forbidden by any other Executive order, such as those involving Iran, the Iranian government, or goods or services of Iranian origin that are forbidden by the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations.
