Trump Got Heat For Reaching a Diesel Deal With Russia. The First Cargo is Now Heading To The U.S. For The First Time Since 2022.

A tanker carrying Russian diesel is heading toward New York following President Donald Trump's agreement with counterpart President Vladimir Putin to increase fuel supplies, potentially marking the first U.S. import of Russian petroleum products since Washington imposed a ban in 2022.

The Malta-flagged vessel Agioi Fanendes loaded 40,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulfur diesel at Russia's Baltic port of Primorsk on Oct. 22, according to LSEG ship-tracking data reviewed by Reuters. The shipment is scheduled to arrive on Nov. 7, although the buyer and seller have not been identified.

Trump announced on Oct. 9 that Russia would release an initial 300,000 metric tons of diesel, equivalent to approximately 2.25 million barrels, to U.S. and international markets. Moscow also committed to supplying another 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons shortly afterward.

The agreement was presented as an effort to ease soaring fuel prices ahead of the November 3 congressional elections, particularly for industries such as trucking, agriculture and construction that depend heavily on diesel.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on Oct. 9, temporarily authorizing certain transactions involving Russian-origin diesel.

The measure, effective through April 7, 2027, permits specified sales, deliveries and imports that would otherwise be restricted under U.S. sanctions. It does not remove broader sanctions against Moscow.

The agreement also required Russia to lift its own restrictions on diesel exports. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Friday that the first tanker had departed under the arrangement but did not specify its destination.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said additional shipments would follow as companies finalized commercial agreements. Moscow expects monthly diesel exports to recover to between 3 million and 3.5 million metric tons by the end of 2026.

Russia previously supplied substantial volumes of diesel to Europe before the European Union banned imports of Russian refined petroleum products in February 2023 following the invasion of Ukraine.

Since then, Turkey, Brazil and several African countries have become important markets for Russian fuel.

Shipping data from LSEG and Kpler show that other Russian diesel tankers have begun signaling voyages to Turkey and Brazil, Reuters reported.

The national average retail price of on-highway diesel reached $6.276 a gallon on Oct. 19, compared with $3.620 a year earlier, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

That represents an increase of approximately 73% over 12 months. Prices were particularly high in Western states. Diesel averaged $7.394 a gallon on the West Coast, while California recorded $8.242.

Higher fuel costs have affected businesses transporting goods, operating agricultural equipment and running industrial facilities, with diesel remaining a major expense across several sectors.

The Trump administration has introduced other measures to ease prices, including an Oct. 5 executive order providing temporary relief from certain federal diesel fuel tax obligations.

The order also directed agencies to facilitate the use of specified dyed diesel supplies for highway transportation through the end of December.

However, additional imports do not necessarily translate into an immediate reduction in retail prices.

The EIA's October Short-Term Energy Outlook, prepared before the Russia agreement, projected diesel prices would remain above $6 a gallon during October before gradually declining as supplies recovered.

The agency also expected distillate fuel inventories to remain below their five-year average throughout its forecast period, limiting the market's ability to absorb further disruptions.