Washington, April 18
In a significant development, the United States has extended a temporary waiver allowing India and other nations to continue buying certain Russian oil shipments, offering short-term relief to global energy markets. The United States Department of the Treasury on Friday permitted transactions involving Russian petroleum that are already at sea on or before 17 April to continue until May 16.
The move comes just days after Washington had indicated it would not renew the measure, creating uncertainty for countries reliant on discounted Russian crude. Earlier, a similar exemption had been granted to India from 5 March, which was later extended to several other countries. That arrangement expired on April 11.
Under the updated licence, however, transactions linked to entities in countries such as Iran, North Korea and Cuba, as well as certain regions of Ukraine, remain prohibited. Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration did not plan to extend waivers on Russian and Iranian oil. The earlier exemption had helped release an estimated 140 million barrels of Russian oil already loaded on ships into global markets, at a time when prices were rising amid tensions linked to the US-Iran conflict.
For import-dependent countries, the extension offers a brief window of certainty, though longer-term policy remains unclear as geopolitical pressures continue to shape energy trade.
