US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the country wants to end Russia oil sanction waivers soon, whie testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
Rubio stated the underlying policy related the sanctions remains the same, and that time limited extension will be subject to change.
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He also identified the risk of contagion potential, where domestic economic measures taken to alleviate global supply such as startegic reserves may be inadequate to guard against a sudden shock, crisis or price volatility in the energy sector which may spread to other asset classes, financial markets, or broader global economies
Rubio seemed to imply that the time-bound extensions were part of the Centre's efforts to prevent such an outcome.
When asked if the Trump administration would not commit to extend the general licensing when it expires on June 17, Rubio stated that it is "ultimately a decision made by Treasury," adding that it would "depend upon the circumstances of that time."
"We would like to end it as soon as we possibly can, because the underlying policy of this country is to sanction their (Russia's) oil. These were time limited waivers for the purpose of opening up more global supply.
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US Treasure Secretary Scott Bessent had announced an additional 30-day extension of the country's waiver of its sanctions on Russia's oil on May 18. This was reportedly in a bid to help "energy-vulnerable" countries affected by its war with Iran. Bessent named India as one of the countries that requires this aid.
"To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil. This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea," Bessent wrote in an 'X' post.
"India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of U.S. oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran's attempt to take global energy hostage," he added.
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