The US Treasury Department has authorised the sale and importation of Russian diesel into the United States through 7 April 2027, prompting Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas to argue that the decision violates a federal law banning Russian energy imports.
According to a statement published by Doggett’s office on 12 October 2026, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on the Friday following a telephone call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The licence authorises the sale, delivery, offloading and importation into the United States of Russian diesel through the specified date.
Doggett, a Democrat whose name was attached to the 2022 Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, said the authorisation conflicts with the law. He argued that the legislation prohibits Russian energy imports, including diesel, and that the administration had not fulfilled the legal requirements for ending that prohibition.
The law was enacted on 8 April 2022. According to Doggett’s office, it passed the House of Representatives by 413 votes to nine and cleared the Senate unanimously before being signed into law. It prohibits the importation of Russian energy products classified under Chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, a category that includes diesel.
The legislation provides a process for the president to terminate the ban. Doggett’s statement says the president must consult the relevant congressional committees and submit a report at least 45 days before certifying that the statutory conditions have been met. Any termination takes effect only after a further 90-day period, during which Congress may pass a resolution of disapproval.
Doggett maintains that these steps have not occurred and that the conditions required by the law have not been met. He therefore characterises the new authorisation as unlawful. His statement is a congressional criticism of the administration’s action; it does not report a court judgment resolving the dispute.
The decision has also drawn criticism from outside the Democratic Party, according to the statement. Republican Senator Thom Tillis said on NBC’s Meet the Press that there was a legitimate case for arguing that the president was not following the law. Tillis also warned that the deal could put American lives at risk, citing the Kremlin’s ties to Iran. Former vice-president Mike Pence separately criticised the lifting of sanctions, the statement says.
The controversy concerns both US import policy and the legal limits on presidential authority. The 2022 law was designed to prohibit Russian energy products from entering the American market, while the new licence expressly authorises Russian diesel imports for a defined period. Doggett argues that the administration cannot set aside the statutory restrictions without following the procedure Congress established.
The stated authorisation runs until 7 April 2027. The supplied source does not establish how much Russian diesel will enter the United States under the licence, whether shipments have already arrived, or whether a court or other authority has ruled on the legality of the measure. The central development is the issuance of the licence and the resulting dispute over its compatibility with the 2022 import ban.
