Business & Economics
U.S. Issues Third 30-Day Waiver for Seaborne Russian Oil Amid Hormuz Blockage
On 18 May 2026, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reversed course again and granted a third one-month general license allowing countries to purchase Russian oil already loaded before 17 Apr 2026, arguing the Iran-triggered closure of the Strait of Hormuz left “energy-vulnerable” nations short of supply.
Focusing Facts
- General License 134C extends the exemption to 17 June 2026 for cargoes shipped on or before 17 Apr 2026.
- India, whose Russian crude intake hit about 2.1 million b/d in May—nearly 50 % of its 4.5 million b/d imports—was among the states that formally requested the waiver.
- WTI briefly topped $103/bbl and Brent $112/bbl on 18 May before easing after President Trump postponed a planned Iran strike.
Context
Great-power energy sanctions have always bent when choke-points close: during the 1956 Suez Crisis Britain and France froze Egyptian assets but still let tankers reroute around the Cape to keep Europe fueled, and in 1980 Washington quietly allowed Iraqi oil swaps despite embargo rhetoric once the Iran-Iraq war pinched supply. The 2026 waiver shows the same pattern: real-world barrel shortages override punishment logic. Structurally, the episode underscores two long arcs: (1) the fragility of a hydrocarbon system that still depends on half-dozen maritime straits, and (2) the limits of financial sanctions as an instrument against a petro-state when alternative buyers and sea-borne fungibility exist. Whether this 30-day patch matters in 2126 will hinge on how fast the world diversifies away from point-source fossil trade; if transition stalls, future treasuries will face the same Faustian choice between price stability and geopolitical leverage.
Perspectives
Pro-Ukraine and sanctions-hardliner media
e.g., Euromaidan Press, POLITICO — They argue the waiver undercuts Western efforts to choke off Moscow’s war revenue and breaks Bessent’s own pledge, easing pressure on Russia just as Kyiv needs maximum leverage. Seeking to maximise economic pain on the Kremlin, these outlets emphasise the hit to sanctions credibility while playing down the risk of a wider energy shock or harm to poor import-dependent states.
Energy-industry and Asian importer press
e.g., OilPrice.com, News18 — They present the waiver as a practical lifeline that keeps medium-sour crude flowing to India and other supply-starved nations while Hormuz remains shut, portraying it as essential for economic stability. Catering to refiners, traders and energy-hungry governments, these sources foreground supply security and may gloss over how the extra revenue simultaneously bolsters Russia’s war chest.
Market-focused financial outlets
e.g., Investing.com, Crypto Briefing — They frame the extension chiefly through the lens of oil price moves and inflation, stressing how the waiver helps cap crude prices and, by extension, supports equities and even crypto assets. Prioritising market sentiment, these publications judge policy largely by its impact on prices rather than geopolitical ethics, accepting the humanitarian justification if it calms markets.
Like what you're reading?