Trump Officials Defend Decision To Lift Some Sanctions On Russian Oil
WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) – Trump administration officials defended their decision on Sunday to temporarily lift some sanctions on Russian oil and predicted the sharp rise in gasoline prices due to the Iran war would last only a few weeks.
Appearing on several television talk shows, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said last week that an exemption allowing India to purchase Russian oil would ease the pressure on the global market.
“There is a 30-day pause to allow millions of barrels of oil sitting on ships to go to Indian refineries, which is common sense,” Waltz said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” he said.
Wright told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the waiver could help “eliminate the fear of oil shortages, address price increases and concerns that we’re seeing in the market.”
With the war in its second week and no end in sight, Americans are grappling with high pump prices, a new factor complicating the U.S. economy, which unexpectedly lost 92,000 jobs in February.
As of Friday, the national average price of regular gasoline was $3.32 per gallon, according to data from motoring group AAA; this was the highest level since September 2024, up 11% from the previous week. Diesel rose to its highest level since November 2023 at $4.33, up 15% from a week ago.
“Short-term oil prices that will plummet once the Iranian nuclear threat ceases to exist is a very small price to pay for the United States, the World, Security, and Peace,” President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday night. “ONLY FOOLS THINK DIFFERENTLY!” Earlier Sunday, Wright said there was no shortage of oil or natural gas and attributed the price increases to “fear and perception” that the Iran operation would be a protracted process. “But it won’t happen that way,” Wright said on Fox News Sunday, echoing Trump’s prediction that the war would last weeks rather than months.
U.S. crude oil futures rose more than 20% in early trading in Asia on Monday, reaching their highest level since July 2022. In a statement late Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Trump to sell oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which currently holds about 415 million barrels, more than the entire world uses in four days.
“Trump must extract oil from the SPR now to stabilize markets, lower prices, and stop the price shock American families are already feeling from his reckless war,” Schumer, a New York Democrat, said.
The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump told Reuters on Thursday he had no plans to tap the strategic reserve.
Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, criticized energy speculators.
“Oil prices are up because there’s a bunch of oil traders with their Gucci loafers, their caramel Frappuccinos, pushing the prices up,” Kennedy said on Fox News Sunday. Political analysts say the persistent rise in gasoline prices could hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections, when control of the U.S. Congress will be at stake. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month found that most respondents rejected Trump’s description of the economy as “booming.”
(Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Timothy Gardner in Washington, Curtis Williams in Houston and Diana Jones in Chicago; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Sergio Non and Lincoln Feast.)
