Trump Russia Diesel Deal Collapses as Four Tankers Veer Off Course and US Fuel Stocks Hit 20-Year Low

A White House effort to ease soaring US fuel costs by importing Russian diesel has faltered badly, with two of the four tankers dispatched under the Trump-Putin deal changing course and the remaining pair unlikely to deliver their cargoes to American ports, according to the Financial Times. The setback comes as US diesel supplies have fallen to their lowest level in 20 years, compounding pressure on the administration to find relief before the midterms.

Of the four tankers loaded with Russian diesel and nominally bound for the United States, one has diverted to Brazil and one is lingering near the Mediterranean. Two vessels are still heading toward the Americas but analysts tracking the shipments said the legal risk of delivering Russian fuel to the US makes it doubtful either will complete the journey. Brazil and Turkey are the two largest traditional buyers of Russian diesel, making a Brazilian diversion the more commercially rational outcome for traders weighing sanctions exposure.

Trump announced the deal with President Vladimir Putin in early October, framing it as a way to lower pump prices and shore up political support heading into midterm elections. The arrangement included a temporary Treasury Department waiver on some US energy sanctions against Russia, covering roughly 800,000 metric tons of diesel across October and November. The first tanker under the deal, the Malta-flagged Agioi Fanendes carrying around 40,000 metric tons, had been signaling New York as its destination after loading at Russia's Baltic port of Primorsk on October 22, but the broader convoy has now largely scattered to other markets.