O governo federal informou nesta terça-feira (27) que renovará por mais um mês a subvenção de R$ 2,12 por litro ao óleo diesel. A medida será formalizada por meio de portaria a ser publicada no Diário Oficial da União.
A renovação já havia sido sinalizada mais cedo pelo ministro da Fazenda, Dario Durigan. Ao ser questionado sobre o tema, ele disse que o governo ainda discutia os detalhes para a publicação da medida.
“A gente vai tratar [da questão da renovação da subvenção do diesel]. Temos reuniões durante o dia e faremos anúncios nas próximas horas ou dias”, declarou o ministro.
De acordo com o governo, o impacto fiscal da prorrogação será compensado por receitas extraordinárias provenientes do petróleo, preservando a neutralidade fiscal.
A subvenção está prevista na Medida Provisória nº 1.391, de 11 de setembro de 2026, que autorizou a União a conceder subvenção econômica a produtores e importadores de óleo diesel enquanto persistirem as instabilidades no mercado internacional de combustíveis decorrentes de conflitos geopolíticos
A legislação federal tem, como objetivo, reduzir os efeitos da volatilidade do mercado internacional sobre o preço do diesel no país.
Em nota, o Ministério do Planejamento e Orçamento informou que a renovação terá validade de 30 dias e poderá ser novamente prorrogada conforme a evolução do mercado internacional de combustíveis.
O ministro da Fazenda, Dario Durigan, afirmou que o governo federal deve enviar ao Congresso Nacional, nos próximos dias, uma Medida Provisória (MP) estabelecendo as alíquotas do chamado Imposto Seletivo (IS).
Também conhecido como Imposto do Pecado, o tributo foi aprovado junto com a reforma tributária e será cobrado a partir de 2027, com a justificativa de desestimular o consumo de produtos e atividades consideradas prejudiciais à saúde ou ao meio ambiente, como cigarros, bebidas alcoólicas, refrigerantes, alguns tipos de veículos, além da extração de bens minerais, loterias, apostas e jogos de fantasy sports (jogos online).
“Vamos enviar [a MP] em breve, provavelmente esta semana”, disse Durigan a jornalistas, hoje (27), em Brasília.
No início do mês, o ministro já tinha antecipado que o governo planejava encaminhar a proposta ao Congresso Nacional logo após o segundo turno das eleições gerais, realizadas no último domingo (25).
Em entrevista na entrada do ministério, Durigan disse que o governo renovaria a subvenção ao óleo diesel. Quase no mesmo momento, o Ministério do Planejamento e Orçamento confirmou a renovação da subvenção ao combustível, no valor de R$ 2,12 por litro, como forma de conter a alta dos preços. A medida tem validade de um mês, podendo ser renovada ao fim do período.
O Governo Federal informou nesta terça-feira (27) que vai renovar a subvenção de R$ 2,12 do diesel. A medida será compensada com receitas extraordinárias de petróleo.
Segundo o Ministério do Planejamento e Orçamento, a medida valerá por um mês. O impacto é o mesmo da subvenção atual. A pasta informou ao CNN Money que a ampliação da medida irá custar R$ 10,5 bilhões.
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A subvenção do diesel foi inicialmente estabelecida pela MP (Medida Provisória) 1.363, de 30 de maio de 2026, no valor de R$ 1,12 por litro.
Posteriormente, diante do agravamento do cenário externo, a MP 1.391, de 11 de setembro de 2026, autorizou o Ministério da Fazenda a definir, por ato próprio, o valor da subvenção ao diesel. Com fundamento nessa autorização, a pasta publicou uma portaria para fixar uma subvenção adicional de R$ 1,00 por litro, que, somada ao valor previsto na MP 1.363/2026, resultou em uma subvenção total de R$ 2,12 por litro.
Como a MP 1.363 perdeu a validade em 26 de setembro, a equipe econômica editou uma portaria na época para assegurar a manutenção do subsídio no patamar de R$ 2,12, válida para outubro.
O Ministério da Fazenda estima que as receitas extraordinárias com petróleo devem alcançar R$ 67,5 bilhões em 2026. O cálculo considera a arrecadação com imposto de exportação e receitas adicionais com venda de óleo, participação de óleo e royalties.
Ao longo de 2026, o governo abriu crédito extraordinário para compensar as medidas dos combustíveis. Veja o que já foi editado até o momento:
MP 1.340/2026 (subvenção do diesel): crédito extraordinário de R$ 7 bilhões;
MP 1.349/2026 (subvenção do GLP e apoio financeiro ao setor aéreo): crédito extraordinário de R$ 800 milhões
MP 1.358/2026 (subvenção diesel e gasolina): crédito extraordinário de R$ 4,1 bilhões;
MP 1.363/2026 (subvenção do diesel em R$ 1,12): R$ 12,5 bilhões.
Democrats and outgoing Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) are telling banks and ports that Congress may investigate imports of Russian diesel after President Trump said the U.S. would import the fuel. In letters to major banks and several U.S. port authorities, the lawmakers wrote that “any importation of Russian diesel into the U.S. raises significant…
Il prezzo di diesel e benzina continua a rimanere sopra la media, con la benzina che tocca anche i 2,042 euro al litro e il diesel a 2,302 euro al litro in autostrada. Da mesi il prezzo riusciva a mantenersi sotto la soglia dei due euro o a superarla leggermente grazie agli interventi del governo Meloni, prima con il taglio delle accise, poi con il tetto ai prezzi.
Da febbraio, da quando è scoppiata la crisi di Hormuz, il prezzo del petrolio è aumentato di circa due terzi (66% circa) e, sebbene il valore del greggio non corrisponda esattamente a quello di benzina e diesel, ne influenza il prezzo. Parte del costo è condizionata da altri fattori, come le tasse. Quanto ci costerebbe il carburante senza di esse?
Le tasse sul gasolio più alte d’Europa
Secondo gli ultimi dati della Commissione Europea, in Italia si pagano tasse sul gasolio più alte che in tutto il resto d’Europa. La somma di accise e IVA fa spendere circa 1,08 euro al litro solo di imposte, ovvero il 48% del prezzo.
Guardando al prezzo medio del diesel in Italia, ovvero 2,261 euro al litro sulla rete nazionale, risulta essere il settimo prezzo più alto in assoluto.
Il prezzo italiano viene superato da quello (in ordine crescente) di:
Germania;
Francia;
Belgio;
Paesi Bassi;
Danimarca;
Finlandia.
Come sarebbero i prezzi senza tasse?
Il risultato però cambia se si guarda ai prezzi senza le tasse. In questa ipotesi, anche se la testa della classifica rimane simile, il fondo cambia molto. In Italia il diesel costerebbe appena 1,166 euro al litro. Il prezzo più basso resterebbe solo a Malta, dove c’è un regime speciale di prezzi e il gasolio senza imposte costerebbe quindi appena 0,55 euro al litro.
Ricordiamo infatti che l’importo delle tasse sul diesel in Italia pesa per 1,077 euro per ogni litro. La media della zona euro è di 85,6 centesimi al litro di tasse. La media europea è quindi di circa 0,22 euro in meno rispetto all’Italia.
Dove ci sono le tasse più basse?
Secondo quanto registrato nell’Unione Europea, il livello più alto di tasse si registra in:
Italia con 1,077 euro al litro;
Danimarca con 1,070 euro al litro;
Finlandia con 1,024 euro al litro;
Belgio con 1,008 euro al litro;
Francia con 0,998 euro al litro.
Tasse più basse si riscontrano invece in:
Polonia con 45,6 centesimi al litro;
Spagna con 50,7 centesimi al litro.
Al momento, per fare un confronto, in Spagna il diesel si paga 1,888 euro, mentre in Italia il prezzo medio oscilla in queste settimane sui 2,244 euro. In Spagna senza le tasse il gasolio costerebbe 1,382 euro al litro, mentre in Italia 1,166 euro al litro.
In Italia le tasse sul diesel valgono il 48% del prezzo finale, il secondo dato più alto in Europa (la media è del 39,1%).
Quali tasse si pagano su benzina e diesel?
In Italia esistono due tipi di tasse: le accise, ovvero l’imposta fissa, e l’IVA, ovvero l’imposta sul valore aggiunto.
Il prezzo esposto al distributore è formato però da tre componenti principali:
il prezzo industriale, che si suddivide in costo del prodotto (valore di mercato che risente della quotazione del greggio e del cambio euro-dollaro), costo della logistica e della distribuzione e margine di guadagno;
l’accisa, l’imposta fissa per l’idrocarburo stabilita per legge;
l’IVA, aliquota del 22% calcolata sull’intero importo.
Si parla spesso delle 19 accise storiche, una serie di tasse su eventi come la guerra d’Etiopia, l’alluvione di Firenze e il terremoto dell’Irpinia. In realtà alcune sono state revocate già da quasi 100 anni, mentre altre sono state accorpate con il Testo Unico delle Accise.
È vero, però, che alcuni eventi hanno portato all’aumento dell’aliquota complessiva, che ad oggi non rappresenta più voci separate; tra questi risultano la ricostruzione post disastro del Vajont, l’alluvione di Firenze, il terremoto del Belice, ma anche la missione di pace in Libano, il decreto Salva Italia e l‘emergenza terremoti in Emilia-Romagna del 2012.
Q8 ha annunciato la proroga del price cap per benzina e gasolio fino al 31 dicembre 2026. La compagnia petrolifera ha deciso di proseguire l’iniziativa introdotta all’inizio di ottobre per contenere il costo dei carburanti e sostenere i consumatori. La decisione arriva dopo l’incontro tra la presidente del Consiglio Giorgia Meloni e l’emiro del Kuwait, Misha’al Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, avvenuto a Kuwait City. Durante il colloquio era stata espressa la disponibilità della società a prolungare il meccanismo di contenimento dei prezzi. La proroga riguarda la rete di distribuzione Q8, ma le modalità di applicazione del limite potranno variare in base alle caratteristiche dei singoli impianti e all’andamento del mercato.
Q8 proroga price cap per benzina e diesel fino a fine anno
La compagnia ha confermato che il price cap sui carburanti resterà in vigore fino alla fine del 2026, prolungando la misura inizialmente prevista per un periodo di 30 giorni. Il tetto era stato introdotto il 1° ottobre 2026, con l’obiettivo di contenere i prezzi alla pompa in una fase caratterizzata dall’attenzione del Governo ai costi sostenuti da famiglie e imprese.
Con la nuova decisione, Q8 estende l’iniziativa anche ai mesi di novembre e dicembre. In una nota ufficiale, la società ha spiegato che intende fornire “un contributo concreto in risposta alle esigenze rappresentate dal governo, coniugando il sostegno ai consumatori con un approccio responsabile, attento all’evoluzione delle condizioni di mercato e alla sostenibilità economica dell’intera filiera”.
L’intervento si inserisce quindi tra le iniziative adottate dalle compagnie petrolifere per limitare l’impatto dei prezzi dei carburanti sui consumatori.
Come funziona il price cap Q8 e quali distributori sono coinvolti
Il price cap è un meccanismo che prevede un limite massimo al prezzo di vendita di benzina e gasolio, secondo le condizioni stabilite dalla compagnia. Q8 ha precisato che la proroga seguirà un approccio modulare, tenendo conto delle diverse modalità di gestione presenti nella propria rete di distribuzione.
La società ha infatti dichiarato che l’iniziativa proseguirà “secondo un approccio modulare, che tenga conto dei diversi modelli operativi presenti nella rete di distribuzione dell’Azienda”.
Questo significa che le condizioni applicative potranno essere differenziate in base alle caratteristiche degli impianti e ai rapporti commerciali con i gestori. Q8 ha inoltre confermato il proprio impegno a fornire supporto ai partner commerciali, con l’obiettivo di mantenere la sostenibilità economica dell’attività di distribuzione.
Non è stato ancora comunicato un nuovo valore numerico del tetto massimo applicabile durante l’intero periodo di proroga. Per conoscere il prezzo effettivo di benzina e gasolio, gli automobilisti dovranno quindi fare riferimento agli importi esposti dai singoli distributori.
Prezzi di benzina e gasolio, perché il price cap potrebbe cambiare
Nel comunicato, Q8 ha precisato di voler definire le modalità operative della proroga in relazione all’evoluzione del mercato. La compagnia terrà conto soprattutto delle condizioni di approvvigionamento dei carburanti e dei costi sostenuti dalla rete distributiva.
Il meccanismo non viene quindi presentato come un prezzo fisso e identico per tutti gli impianti fino al 31 dicembre. Le condizioni potranno essere adattate per garantire un equilibrio tra il contenimento dei prezzi al pubblico e la sostenibilità delle attività dei gestori.
La società ha spiegato che definirà “le modalità applicative” dell’intervento “tenendo conto dell’evoluzione del mercato e delle condizioni di approvvigionamento”.
L’incontro tra Meloni e l’emiro del Kuwait sulla proroga
L’annuncio della compagnia segue il confronto diplomatico tra Italia e Kuwait, durante il quale era stata affrontata anche la questione dei prezzi dei carburanti. Nel corso dell’incontro a Kuwait City tra Giorgia Meloni e l’emiro Misha’al Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, era emersa la disponibilità a estendere l’iniziativa di Q8.
La compagnia, legata al gruppo petrolifero kuwaitiano, ha successivamente ufficializzato la proroga del price cap fino alla fine dell’anno. La misura risponde alla richiesta del Governo italiano di individuare strumenti per contenere i costi energetici e sostenere il potere d’acquisto dei consumatori.
Durante la call con gli azionisti, il Chief Transition & Financial Officer di Eni Francesco Gattei ha annunciato che la società manterrà fino a fine anno il tetto al prezzo dei carburanti, prolungandolo quindi di due mesi. La benzina costerà 1,99 euro al litro, il diesel 2,25 euro al litro.
Eni può permettersi un’iniziativa del genere anche alla luce degli ottimi risultati del terzo trimestre, in cui l’azienda ha registrato una crescita del 125% degli utili. Dall’inizio dell’anno i guadagni di Eni sono aumentati del 70%, soprattutto a causa della guerra in Iran e del conseguente aumento del prezzo del petrolio.
Prolungato il tetto del prezzo del carburante di Eni
Eni aveva annunciato il tetto al prezzo del carburante dopo che il Governo aveva deciso di non rinnovare, a partire dall’inizio di ottobre, gli sconti sulle accise. Eni è una cosiddetta azienda partecipata, controllata dal Ministero dell’Economia. Il rinnovo del tetto bloccherà i prezzi massimi dei carburanti:
a 1,990 euro al litro per la benzina contro un prezzo medio di 2,025 euro al litro;
a 2,25 euro al litro per il gasolio contro un prezzo medio di 2,261 euro al litro.
Gli sconti ammontano quindi in media a 2,5 centesimi sulla benzina e a 1,1 centesimi sul diesel. La nuova data di scadenza del tetto al prezzo del carburante di Eni è il 31 dicembre 2026. Non è chiaro se anche le altre società che avevano seguito Eni in questa iniziativa prolungheranno i propri sconti.
Le dichiarazioni di Gattei
Ad annunciare il prolungamento dello sconto è stato il Cfo di Eni, Francesco Gattei, durante la call con gli azionisti che ha illustrato i risultati trimestrali della società. Gattei ha dichiarato:
Per noi fare impresa significa gestire una strategia volta a perseguire un valore sostenibile e a lungo termine. Crediamo che le aziende abbiano una responsabilità sociale, non possiamo vivere in una sorta di bolla al di fuori del mondo reale. Quindi vogliamo e dobbiamo essere realistici e pensare che sostenere i clienti sia una priorità per un’azienda che si occupa di un bisogno fondamentale com’è l’energia. Per questo abbiamo deciso di introdurre un tetto massimo alle nostre vendite di benzina e diesel.
L’impatto del tetto a diesel e benzina sui bilanci di Eni
Nella call non è stato illustrato con esattezza quanto questa iniziativa impatterà sui bilanci di Eni per i prossimi mesi, ma Gattei ha comunque proposto una stima:
In termini di stime, riteniamo che, nelle attuali condizioni di mercato e ipotizzando il livello osservato finora, l’impatto in un trimestre si attesterà nell’ordine di alcune centinaia di milioni.
Eni, però, non dovrebbe risentire troppo di questa spesa.
Eni può permettersi il tetto a diesel e benzina
Venerdì 23 ottobre Eni ha presentato i risultati operativi del terzo trimestre del 2026:
l’utile netto rettificato è stato di 2,8 miliardi di euro, il 125% in più rispetto al terzo trimestre del 2025;
nei primi 9 mesi dell’anno l’utile netto rettificato è stato di 6,44 miliardi di euro, il 70% in più rispetto allo stesso periodo dello scorso anno.
L’azienda ha spiegato questi risultati con “condizioni di mercato favorevoli” vale a dire con l’aumento del prezzo del petrolio dovuto alla guerra in Iran. La dirigenza ha annunciato anche un dividendo straordinario per gli azionisti e il titolo è cresciuto in Borsa di oltre il 5%.
It's been more than a decade since Iowa has had a Democratic governor or senator. But this year, with the incumbents retiring, both races are competitive. As Peter Tubbs at Iowa PBS reports, record-high diesel prices have hit the state's agriculture industry particularly hard and could influence the midterm elections.
A first tanker carrying Russian diesel to the United States under a new import agreement has set sail, the Kremlin said Friday, two weeks after President Donald Trump said he struck a deal with President Vladimir Putin despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act on Thursday, announcing that the government would be spending $150 million toward boosting domestic gas and diesel production as the White House looks to ease consumer pain at the gas pump. The announcement was made in a presidential memorandum earlier Thursday, but the president detailed the exact amount…
The answer, delivered during a debate with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton, aligned Marshall with President Donald Trump's freshly antagonistic posture toward Ukraine, which has spent more than four years defending itself against an invasion.
Investors who buy idle sanctioned tankers and refit them could put the ships back into legal oil trade, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on 19 October, Bloomberg reported. He laid out the plan five days after a US official described it to Reuters.
That official said the aim was to cut record tanker freight rates. The Energy Department added that any relief would not help Russia move its oil. The plan comes weeks before the 3 November midterms, with voters worried about fuel costs after gasoline and diesel prices surged in the Mideast conflict. Yet the shadow fleet is also how Russia sells oil past sanctions, and those sales fund its war against Ukraine. In December 2025, Ukraine’s foreign intelligence counted more than 1,100 tankers serving Russia alone, 226 of them under US sanctions.
An approval process Wright didn’t detail
Many sanctioned tankers sit idle, Wright told Bloomberg’s Annmarie Hordern, and buyers keep approaching the administration offering to fix them up and carry only legal oil.
“We’re going to move some of the ships from what I call the ‘bad-guy fleet’ to the ‘good-guy fleet,’” he said. “They will not carry sanctioned oil anymore.”
The ships must go through an approval process, Wright said, but he gave no criteria. He insisted “there is no removing of sanctions.”
He put the global dark fleet at about 1,600 ships, a count covering vessels that hauled Venezuelan, Iranian, and Russian oil. Dozens or even hundreds could turn legitimate, he said. The ships are no longer needed for Venezuelan oil, Wright said, and no Iranian oil is moving. Russian oil exports, he added, “are certainly not growing.”
Diesel, a waiver, and the tankers
Earlier, on 9 October, the Treasury issued General License 135, allowing some deals in Russian diesel until 7 April 2027. On 16 October, US President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs under the Graham Act, leaving earlier sanctions intact. That law had directed him to review and sanction shadow-fleet vessels. Trump defended the waiver as a way to keep Moscow at the negotiating table.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News host Larry Kudlow on 18 October that he had asked the White House team to “carefully consider the unintended consequences,” The Hill reported. He added that he thought “the right decision will be made” in the end.
A tanker loaded with Russian diesel will sail for the US on Thursday as Moscow starts to implement a fuel supply deal struck by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
Russian diesel shipments are returning to Türkiye and Brazil after Moscow lifted its export ban and the US temporarily suspended sanctions on Russian fuel supplies, Reuters reported on 20 October, citing shipping data from Kpler and LSEG.
The resumption of exports gives Russia another source of revenue to support its war against Ukraine, allowing Moscow to profit from fuel sales despite the domestic shortages that prompted its export ban. The US sanctions relief is helping Russia restore access to international buyers while its full-scale invasion continues.
According to Reuters, at least two tankers carrying Russian diesel have departed the Baltic port of Primorsk for Türkiye and Brazil in recent days. Each vessel is carrying around 300,000 barrels, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters. Morocco has also resumed importing Russian diesel since the export ban was lifted.
Russia ended its self-imposed diesel export ban on 9 October after reaching a deal with US President Donald Trump to resume fuel supplies to global markets. Moscow had introduced the ban to address domestic shortages triggered by Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries.
Those supply problems have not been resolved, but the US temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian fuel supplies as part of the deal, allowing Moscow to prioritize export opportunities despite domestic shortages. EU and UK embargoes on Russian fuel imports remain in force.
Russian diesel exports remain below last year's levels
Russian diesel exports averaged around 345,000 barrels per day in 2026 so far, down 41% from the previous year, according to shipping data cited by Reuters. Exports had already fallen during the summer before Moscow imposed its ban.
Türkiye accounted for around 34% of Russian diesel loadings this year, followed by Brazil at 24% and Morocco at 10%, Kpler data showed.
Trump said Russia would initially export 300,000 metric tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons afterward. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow could raise exports to as much as 3.5 million metric tons per month by the end of the year.
US seeks to ease diesel prices
The deal comes as Trump seeks to present a picture of bringing down diesel prices ahead of the US midterm elections on 3 November. Fuel prices have risen amid disruptions to global energy supplies caused by Trump's war with Iran, which has shaken oil markets and raised concerns about supply routes.
Trump has blamed Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil infrastructure for driving up energy prices, despite the broader market disruption caused by his war with Iran. The Russian diesel deal offers a way to increase global fuel supplies, but also allows Moscow to earn revenue from exports while its war against Ukraine continues.
However, the volumes from Russia initially outlined by Trump would cover only a small share of the global supply shortfall.
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Trump says Russia agreed to supply millions of tons of diesel to US and global markets as he blames Ukraine for fuel price hikes driven by Iran war
US President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on 18 October that he did not want to “drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table.” He also wrote: “Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!”
Trump was referring to sanctions and tariffs under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which he waived in an executive order on 16 October, days before the measures were due to take effect. The waiver suspends additional economic penalties intended to pressure Moscow over its war against Ukraine, while leaving earlier US sanctions in place. The decision came weeks before the 3 November midterms, in which Republicans are defending slim majorities in both chambers, and analysts said the penalties could have pushed up oil prices for Americans already paying more, largely because of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Reuters reported.
Trump says Zelenskyy could have made a better deal two years ago
A week before the waiver, Trump had announced a deal for Russia to increase diesel supplies to global markets. The Treasury also issued a license, valid until 7 April 2027, permitting certain transactions in Russian-origin diesel.
In the Truth Social post, Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of targeting Russian diesel refineries, saying the strikes were “seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States.” Kyiv had paused its refinery strikes for three days at Washington’s request after Trump declared an energy ceasefire on 11 October, which Russia never confirmed, then resumed them. Since then, Russia has struck Ukraine’s energy sector 76 times, Zelenskyy said on 18 October.
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Kyiv gets no warning of the first of two Russian ballistic waves, hours after Zelenskyy said US alerts were back
Trump wrote that Zelenskyy “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did,” and that he “could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now.”
“His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead,” Trump added.
He also said Russia was “doing very little, if anything, to help” Iran and that he wanted to keep it that way.
A day earlier, Trump said he had not made a final decision
On 17 October, Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago that he had not announced his final decision. “A lot of you don’t know what my decision is yet, but we’ll figure it out, and you’ll figure it out,” he said, Reuters reported.
“I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters before departing for Uzbekistan the same day.
Zelenskyy calls the waiver a pity as Republicans split
Zelenskyy called it a “pity” that Trump had waived sanctions under a law named for the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who “really believed in Ukraine.” He said he hoped Trump would change his decisions, NBC News reported.
Discussing the diesel deal on NBC’s Meet the Press, Zelenskyy said US oil prices had risen because shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was blocked, not because of Ukraine.
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A month before the diesel waiver, Trump’s envoys had already pitched Kyiv on Russian gas, NYT says
On 17 October, Zelenskyy told journalists that “the decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me” and that it “definitely helps only the Russians.” His remarks appeared in Ukrainian on his official Telegram channel.
“Sanctions relief will continue. I think the diesel deal and the move regarding the Lindsey Graham Act are not the end of it. Unfortunately,” Zelenskyy said.
On 19 October, Zelenskyy wrote that partners had again given no warning of Russia’s overnight ballistic attack and that blocking missiles for Ukraine’s air defense while Russia gets sanctions eased or postponed amounts to partners denying reality.
Republican Senator James Lankford defended Trump’s decision on NBC’s Meet the Press, saying the president was “choosing the American people first.”
Senator Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister, whom Trump has endorsed for a full term, said at a campaign stop on 17 October that she would “choose to keep the pressure on Russia.”
“I don’t trust Putin and I don’t trust Russia,” Darline Graham said.
She did not directly criticize Trump but said she would not have made that choice, Reuters reported.
During their visit to Kyiv in September, US President Donald Trump’s envoys urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to consider restarting the pipelines that once carried Russian gas to Europe, The New York Times reported on 17 October. They presented it as part of a peace deal with Russia. In the weeks that followed, they pressed the idea with European officials, while Washington freed Russian diesel and spared Russia’s oil buyers from new US penalties.
Energy sales fund Russia’s war, and Ukraine’s halt of transit in January 2025 left TurkStream as Gazprom’s only pipeline route into the EU. Meanwhile, Russia has kept bombing Ukraine’s grid through the energy truce Washington declared on 11 October.
The pitch in Kyiv
Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner put the idea to Zelenskyy when they met him in Kyiv, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the talks. Trump officials argued that transit fees, which Ukraine gave up at about $1 billion a year, would benefit Kyiv, and that European voters would eventually want cheaper energy. Russia’s share of EU gas imports had fallen from 45% in 2021 to 13% last year.
The envoys presented renewed Russian gas sales as one of the economic incentives in a wider settlement covering Russia’s relationship with NATO, security guarantees for Ukraine, and territorial control. Some European and Ukrainian officials suspected Washington would seek a cut of the profits. The White House denied that the Nord Stream pipeline had been a subject of recent discussions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that resuming energy cooperation is in Russia’s interest and, right now, even more in Europe’s.
US President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Kyiv, 6 September 2026. Photo: President's Office of Ukraine
Germany pushes back
At Ukraine talks the envoys hosted in Florida last week, Günter Sautter, security adviser to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, forcefully opposed the idea. German lawmakers have called a return to Russian deliveries a disaster for European security, even treason, as the far-right AfD courts Gazprom to bring the gas back. Former Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who steered Germany off Russian gas after 2022, said Trump “seems to have more sympathies with Vladimir Putin than he has with the Ukrainians.”
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One concession after another
Rather than pressure Putin or strengthen Ukraine, the administration has spent much of its peace effort on economic incentives for Russia, the newspaper wrote. The US Treasury cleared imports of Russian diesel on 9 October. On 16 October, Trump waived the penalties on Russia’s oil buyers that Congress had passed in the Graham Act. Washington is also weighing relief for sanctioned shadow fleet tankers. And the White House ordered limits on the military satellite service Ukraine’s forces rely on, Reuters reported.
Putin’s economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev claimed the ice had broken and more joint initiatives would follow, including data centers powered by Russian nuclear energy. The talks also cover the sale of Lukoil’s foreign assets to a group that includes the US government, the newspaper reported earlier this month. Zelenskyy, who had heard the pitch in Kyiv, alluded to it in a Financial Times interview this week.
“The question will be when will the next deal be? Maybe it will be gas. Definitely it will be gas,” he said.
Reopening the pipelines could hand Moscow back significant revenue and strengthen its sway over Europe’s energy market, Liga noted. Each new concession lowers the price Russia pays for continuing the war.
The single most predictable action of the Trump second presidency happened just a few hours ago. Trump signed an executive order that exempted Russia from all of the key possible sanctions that could have been placed on it by the Graham-Blumenthal bill. Here is a link to the order and here is how it opens. The […]
A bipartisan group of 22 House lawmakers is urging President Donald Trump to fully implement the new Russia sanctions law and revoke a license allowing certain Russian diesel transactions. In a letter sent on 15 October, they copied Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and requested details on planned sanctions, tariffs and waivers.
Their request comes as the law’s first requirements fall due on 18 October, while lawmakers from both parties challengethe administration’s decision to allow certain Russian diesel transactions. Some restrictions take effect automatically, while others require presidential action. The law does not specify a penalty for the president missing the deadline.
What the Russia sanctions law requires
Congress passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by votes of 86–11 in the Senate and 262–159 in the House. Trump signed it on 18 September. Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, died in July.
Restrictions taking effect automatically on 18 October include a ban on US banks and broker-dealers processing transfers to or from the Russian government, a ban on new US investment in Russia, a ban on new US investment in Russia’s energy sector, and a ban on US energy exports to Russia.
Other measures require presidential action by the same date. The law directs Trump to review and sanction Russian officials, oligarchs and shadow-fleet vessels, sanction the Bank of Russia, specified Russian banks and state-owned companies, and impose tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods. Tariffs of up to 100% can apply to goods from countries among the five largest importers of Russian oil or gas, or among the top five countries facilitating Russian oil sanctions evasion.
Trump may waive sanctions, restrictions and tariffs under the law if he first certifies in writing to Congress that a waiver is in the US national interest and submits a report explaining its basis.
The diesel license at the center of the dispute
House members also urged Trump to revoke General License 135, which the Treasury Department issued on 9 October and that is valid until 7 April 2027. It permits certain transactions involving Russian-origin diesel, including imports into the United States. Trump said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to US and global markets and predicted prices would fall sharply, according to a 9 October Truth Social post.
On 13 October, a bipartisan group of 12 senators also urged Trump to rescind the deal and revoke the license. Seven senators said the deal conflicted with a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports.
The Graham Act says nothing in its provisions affects the Treasury secretary’s existing authority to issue general licenses. That provision does not resolve whether the diesel license complies with the separate 2022 law.
A White House official told Newsweek the administration would comply with the Graham Act. Bessent said the administration would use “all the legal authorities we have” and called the deal “good for the American people,” Fox News reported on 11 October.
How the sanctions could be lifted
Separately, the law sets a process for terminating sanctions, restrictions or duties against Russia. Trump must report to Congress that Russia has signed a peace agreement accepted by Ukraine’s government and ceased military hostilities against Ukraine, as well as activities to overthrow, dismantle or subvert its government. Congress has 30 days to block termination through a joint resolution of disapproval, or 60 days for reports submitted between 10 July and 7 September.
When Rudolph Diesel disappeared in 1913, many suspected foul play. The prime suspects were Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II and US oil man John D. Rockefeller. Both would have had reason to want the inventor of the diesel engine dead. The militaristic kaiser was building a diesel-powered submarine fleet. He had no interest in other countries […]
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