U.S. lets Russian oil sanctions waiver expire
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- U.S. Treasury did not publish an extension of its waiver on Russian seaborne oil sanctions that expired at midnight June 17, 2026, with the White House and OFAC not responding to requests for comment on whether measures would be reimposed.
- Trump told reporters at the G7 summit in France the U.S. was "looking at" reimposing sanctions, noting oil prices are "really tumbling," and said June 16 the waiver could end because "the oil is now flowing out of the Middle East."
- The waiver was granted during the war on Iran to help vulnerable economies with an energy crisis IEA head Fatih Birol called "the biggest disruption to global energy markets in history."
- The Trump administration sanctioned Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil last year to pressure Moscow over Ukraine; Russia ranks among the world's top three oil exporters alongside the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
- The U.S. has previously let the waiver expire only to extend it days later — making this ambiguous non-extension a notable departure from recent pattern.
- The Kremlin said June 14 that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who lead Ukraine war negotiations, will visit Russia soon.
Why it matters: Treasury's non-extension directly targets Moscow's primary revenue stream, with Rosneft and Lukoil — Russia's oil majors — already sanctioned to pressure an end to the Ukraine war. Trump preserves leverage by staying non-committal, but with Witkoff and Kushner heading to Russia for negotiations, the silence from Treasury strips Moscow of the safety valve it has relied on each time the waiver lapsed in recent months.
