The License Allows Sales of Russian Oil Without Penalty Through Mid-April
March 13, 2026—With oil supplies rocked by the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, the Trump administration lifted sanctions this week, allowing Russia to sell oil and petroleum products through April 11, 2026.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the license issued would apply to “oil already in transit” and is intended to lower oil prices.
“The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term,” he wrote on X.
The General License 134 is available here: https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/935191/download?inline
The U.S. government had already given India a 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil. That waiver came a month after India had agreed not to buy oil from Russia due to its war with Ukraine.
Other Sanction Delisting
The Treasury Department also lifted secondary sanctions on Russian nationals living in Finland, including Boris Aleksandrovich Gaykovich, who was sanctioned on a cyber-related cause, and Nikita Kovalevskij, also known as Nikita Muravjov, as well as the shipping companies he manages—GCH Finland Oy, Unicum Trade Oy, and Acex Oy.
The sanctions date back to September 23, 2020 and related to criminal activity and interference in the U.S. elections. At the time, a special agent in the FBI Counterintelligence Division said Kovalevskij and his company “violated U.S. export laws in the acquisition of sensitive, controlled U.S. maritime technologies.”
Sources: https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20200923_33
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1133
Additional removals included a UAE-based cargo transportation company Globe Trekkers LLC.
