A bipartisan group of seven U.S. senators is challenging the legal basis for allowing Russian-origin diesel imports. Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Susan Collins, Richard Blumenthal, Lisa Murkowski, Ron Wyden, Thom Tillis, and John Curtis issued the statement on October 11.
The senators said Congress prohibited Russian energy imports through the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act in 2022. They argued that the administration had not completed the consultation or explanation they believe the statute requires and urged it to reverse course. Their statement is a legal position, not a court judgment.
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on October 9. The license authorizes transactions otherwise barred by specified Russia sanctions regulations when they involve the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation of Russian-origin diesel, including importation into the United States, through 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on April 7, 2027.
Reuters reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would proceed using existing legal authority and argued that the plan would help lower fuel prices. The dispute now centers on how the Treasury license interacts with the 2022 statute and whether further congressional action or judicial review follows.