No U.S. Buyer Emerges for Trump's 36 Million-Barrel Russian Diesel Deal

Roughly 36 million barrels of Russian diesel, brokered in an October deal between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin, remain without a single publicly identified U.S. buyer — and oil traders are increasingly skeptical any of the four laden vessels will unload on American soil.

Trump announced the accord as part of a broader push to lower energy prices that had rallied largely because of the Iran war. The White House is sticking with the plan despite bipartisan blowback from Republicans and Democrats. But several commodity trading companies and other potential counterparties have judged the risks too large to import the cargoes, according to people familiar with internal deliberations who asked not to be identified because they lacked authorization to speak on the record. Brazilian fuel distributors are now being offered the barrels instead.

Why are traders walking away?

The core problem is legal, not commercial. The Treasury Department issued a sanctions waiver on Oct. 9, but firms doubt it supersedes the 2022 federal law banning imports of Russian oil and fuel — despite White House assurances.

"We understand that there's strong reluctance by private companies to be involved in these Russian diesel cargoes due to attendant significant legal and reputational risk," said Bob McNally, founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group.

Claire O'Neill McCleskey, a former Treasury official and co-founder of sanctions advisory firm Clarity Compliance Consulting, put it more bluntly: "The legal ambiguity will scare off a lot of companies."

An administration official countered that Russian diesel is on the water and heading to market, which will ease prices for Americans. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Where are the tankers?

One vessel that had signaled a U.S. destination was last seen roughly 400 nautical miles off the East Coast, tracing a zigzag pattern at sea, according to a port report and Bloomberg-compiled data. That erratic loitering is the strongest visible signal yet that no discharge port has committed.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill warned port operators and terminal owners last week against accepting Russian diesel, arguing they might violate federal law. New Jersey hosts some of the biggest petroleum docks and storage tanks comprising New York Harbor. House and Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have vowed to investigate the deal and asked banks and ports to preserve related records.

What's the price backdrop?

The political stakes trace directly to the pump. The Iran war and Ukraine's bombardment of Russian refineries pushed fuel prices to seasonal records — a dynamic widely credited with propelling Democrats to historic victories in this month's midterm elections.

Prices have moderated recently, but the national average diesel price stood at $6.10 a gallon as of Nov. 11, according to the American Automobile Association — about 40 cents below its record high, but still punishing for carriers. Gasoline has fallen below $4 a gallon, yet remains a record for this time of year.

Does the volume even matter?

Refiners say no. Phillips 66, one of the largest U.S. oil refiners, said Russian export volumes are too small to make a meaningful dent in U.S. prices. CEO Mark Lashier said late last month that his company has "no intent to acquire Russian diesel."

Ukraine, for its part, has resumed drone strikes on Russian refineries and says it attacked Russia's largest refinery in western Siberia for a third time — a reminder that the supply the deal is meant to unlock remains under direct military threat.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright framed the initiative as leverage, not just supply. "The only way Russia can benefit meaningfully from exporting diesel is to turn down the war effort," he said in a recent Bloomberg TV interview.

With no committed buyer, an unresolved question over whether a Treasury waiver can override statute, and tankers burning fuel in circles offshore, the deal's fate now rests on whether any U.S. port or trader will accept legal exposure the market has so far uniformly declined.