US Issues New Moratorium For Sale Of Russian Crude To Other Nations Except Cuba, North Korea

The United States has issued a new 30-day waiver for the sale of Russian crude oil. The licence replaces a similar 30-day sanction issued on March 12, with exceptions involving North Korea, Cuba, and Crimea.

With the West Asian war taking a toll on energy supplies across the world, the US is trying to tame soaring oil prices with waivers on Russian oil imposed after the onset of the Ukraine war in 2022.

“Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this general license, all transactions prohibited by the above-listed authorities that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Russian Federation origin loaded on any vessel, including vessels blocked under the above-listed authorities, on or before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, March 12, 2026, are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, April 11, 2026,” the US Department of the Treasury said in a notice on Thursday.

However, with the latest moratorium, it also clarified that no such waiver was allowed for countries like Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.

“Any transaction involving a person located in or organised under the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the covered regions of Ukraine, as defined by E.O. 14065, the Crimea region of Ukraine, as defined by E.O. 13685, or any entity that is owned or controlled by or in a joint venture with such persons,” the notice said.

Under this moratorium, India was allowed to buy oil from Russia. India had earlier reduced purchases of Russian oil to align with a bilateral trade deal with the US.

Since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, Russia had become the largest oil supplier to India. With the 30-day moratorium, the US aims to control crude oil prices, which had jumped to as high as $120 per barrel after the start of the Iran war.