US Democrats and Tillis warn banks and ports over Russian diesel imports from Trump's Putin deal

Letters to banks and ports

Democratic lawmakers, joined by Republican senator Thom Tillis, have asked six large US banks and several port authorities to preserve every record of any Russian diesel imports, according to Axios, which obtained the letter. The banks are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The port authorities are those of Houston, Beaumont and Corpus Christi in Texas, and those of New York and New Jersey. Recipients were asked to keep contracts, shipping documents, ship logs and correspondence with suppliers, intermediaries and Trump administration officials. The requests are meant to prepare for possible congressional inquiries.

The signatories include Democratic senators Chris Coons, Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse, who could chair the Foreign Relations, Banking, Finance and Judiciary committees if Democrats retake the Senate. Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen and Representative Greg Meeks also signed, as did Tillis, the only Republican named. The letter states that any such import raises serious legal questions and could lead to lawsuits and congressional probes.

Legal argument

The signatories argue that the agreement with Moscow could breach US legislation banning imports of Russian petroleum products. Washington has barred imports of Russian oil and refined products, diesel included, since March 2022. The lawmakers say the existing law blocks such imports until the president certifies to Congress that Russia has stopped hostilities in Ukraine, poses no immediate military threat to NATO members and recognises Ukrainians' right to choose their government.

House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin, who is expected to lead the committee if Democrats win the House in the midterm elections, sent a separate letter to the American Petroleum Institute, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In it he says companies taking part in efforts to sell Russian diesel in the US would be breaking federal law and would be held accountable, under this administration or the next.

The deal and the first cargoes

Trump announced the agreement with Vladimir Putin on 9 October. He said Russia would immediately deliver more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and a further million tonnes later, with up to three million tonnes more depending on the condition and capacity of Russian refineries. The Financial Times links the deal to a sharp rise in US fuel prices, which it attributes to Trump's war with Iran and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. Diesel at US pumps averages $6.34 a gallon, up from $3.66 a year earlier, according to the FT, while Politico puts the gap at $2.70 a gallon.

Three tankers carrying about 140,000 tonnes of Russian diesel, the first licensed by US authorities under the deal, are expected to arrive days after the midterm election. One of them, the Leruo, is Hong Kong-owned, Sierra Leone-flagged and sanctioned by the UK, EU and Canada. It left St Petersburg on 17 October and was in the North Sea off Norway on Monday, 26 October. Marine Traffic data shows a scheduled arrival on the US Atlantic coast on 11 November.

Russian output rises

Russian refineries have increased diesel output in October after the government granted special export quotas from 1 October, according to oil market sources cited by Reuters. Output fell to about 160,000 tonnes a day in the first half of October, down from 175,000 tonnes a day in September, before climbing toward 180,000 tonnes a day after the quotas were allocated in mid-month. Domestic consumption usually drops to about 140,000 tonnes a day in October, leaving at least 40,000 tonnes a day for export, or more than a million tonnes a month. Sources say 200,000 to 300,000 tonnes of that could go to neighbouring countries.

September 2026175,000

First half of October 2026160,000

September 2026

175000 tonnes per day

First half of October 2026

160000 tonnes per day

Data from the article text

Industry representatives expect the government to keep the general export ban, in force since August, in place for most other diesel volumes.