Trump Eases Russia Sanctions in Bid to Lower Diesel Prices, Drawing Rare Bipartisan and Canadian Opposition

U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary easing of sanctions on Russia's energy sector, framed as a response to rising domestic diesel prices, is facing rare public opposition from members of both parties in Congress as well as from NATO ally Canada.

According to Al Jazeera, Trump announced last week an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply 300,000 tonnes of diesel to global markets, with plans to add another 500,000 tonnes in November. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the decision on Sunday in an interview on Fox News' "Fox and Friends," saying the administration would pursue the deal "within all legal authorities."

Republican Senator Thom Tillis publicly questioned the legality of the move on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "I think there's a reasonable argument to make that the President is not complying with the law," Tillis said, pointing to both a 2022 executive order and a law signed last month—named after the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham—that explicitly prohibit U.S. investment in Russia's energy sector.

Tillis then joined Republican Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John Curtis, along with Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Richard Blumenthal, to form a bipartisan group that sent a letter to the administration calling for the immediate reversal of the Russian sanctions exemption. The letter read: "America should not provide Putin an economic lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The administration must change course immediately." Outgoing Nebraska Republican Congressman Don Bacon also criticized the move on Friday, saying it was "morally wrong to use America's money to prop up Putin's wartime economy as he uses those funds to bomb cities."

Canada quickly joined the opposition. The office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement on Sunday following a call between Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the deal "runs counter to the efforts of Ukraine, Canada and our allies to create peace and stability in Europe and will provide additional revenue for Russia to fund its illegal war."

In the interview, Tillis attributed the real root cause of high oil prices to U.S. military operations in the Middle East itself. This year's global rise in fuel prices has been driven mainly by the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran that began in February, which prompted Iran to restrict commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz—a key channel for global fuel trade. "If President Trump wants to relieve pressure on energy supply, number one, deal with Iran; number two, recognize that it is Vladimir Putin—not Zelensky—who started this war," Tillis said. "If energy prices come from that part of the world, the responsibility lies with Putin."

Trump told Zelensky on Saturday: "I would suggest they get a leader who can make a deal, because he could have made many deals, and he never did." He also said: "This war should have never happened, and I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president."

Analysts noted that easing sanctions on Russia is unlikely to bring down diesel prices over the long term. Tillis warned that his support for the president's legislative agenda would depend on whether the White House reverses the decision. The public pressure from members of his own party underscores genuine divisions within the Republican Party on aid to Russia and sanctions: the establishment wing largely favors continued firm support for Kyiv, while another faction within the party remains skeptical of sustained assistance to Ukraine.