🇺🇸🛢️ RUSSIAN DIESEL AND THE TWO LEVELS OF AMERICAN SANCTIONS

Trump announced a Russian diesel deal. But the legal mechanism—OFAC General License 135—is a fragile, revocable administrative act, not a repeal of sanctions. And Congress is furious.

📜 The deal: Trump announced 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel immediately, 500,000 in November—prompted by record US diesel prices ($5.82/gallon).

⚖️ The instrument: GL 135 authorizes transactions until April 2027. But a license is not a law—it can be revoked at any moment.

🏛️ The conflict: Congress banned Russian energy imports in 2022. GL 135 doesn't mention that ban.

🇪🇺 The asymmetry: Brussels can only tighten sanctions through slow, unanimous decisions.

🔄 The pattern: Belarus and Venezuela show licenses end not abruptly, but through short wind-down windows—45 days in one case, ~84 in the other.

👉 Read the full analysis: https://thinkbrics.substack.com/p/russian-diesel-and-the-two-levels

#US 🇺🇸 #Russia 🇷🇺 #Sanctions #Diesel #OFAC #BRICS