President Donald Trump questioned the US law banning Russian petroleum imports during an Oval Office appearance on Thursday, saying he would examine the legislation — but he announced no policy change, no timetable and no amendment. It was his first public comment on the dispute over his administration's authorisation of Russian diesel transactions.

Key Points

• President Donald Trump questioned the US law banning Russian petroleum imports on Thursday 5 November 2026, saying he would examine it but announcing no policy change.
• A reporter asked about a tanker carrying Russian diesel across the Atlantic, supposedly bound for the United States, and the legal restriction on unloading its cargo.
• Trump first asked whether the restriction fell under the Jones Act, and when told it was 2022 legislation, replied: "That probably makes it a pretty bad law. I'll take a look at it, sure."
• The Treasury issued General License 135 on 9 October 2026, authorising Russian-origin diesel transactions, including importation into the United States, through 7 April 2027.
• The Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, signed on 8 April 2022, separately prohibits imports of Russian products classified under Chapter 27 of the US tariff schedule.

What Happened

The exchange took place during an Oval Office appearance on Thursday, when a reporter raised the case of a tanker carrying Russian diesel across the Atlantic, supposedly bound for the United States, and asked about the legal restriction on unloading its cargo. Trump first asked whether the restriction fell under the Jones Act. The reporter clarified that the question concerned legislation enacted in 2022, and the president responded by casting doubt on the law itself.

"That probably makes it a pretty bad law. I'll take a look at it, sure," Trump said, after the reporter told him that Congress had passed the legislation and President Joe Biden had signed it in 2022. His response offered no timetable, no proposed amendment and no explanation of how the administration would reconcile its diesel authorisation with the statutory import prohibition.

Background and Context

The dispute began with a Treasury decision. On 9 October 2026, the Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135, which authorises transactions otherwise prohibited by two sets of Russia-related sanctions regulations when they concern the sale, delivery, offloading or importation of Russian-origin diesel. It expressly covers importation into the United States, through 7 April 2027, and concerns diesel only.

That licence sits uneasily alongside a separate statute. The Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, signed on 8 April 2022, independently prohibits imports of Russian products classified under Chapter 27 of the US tariff schedule. Ending that prohibition requires a presidential certification concerning a Ukraine-accepted agreement for Russian withdrawal and a cessation of hostilities, the absence of an immediate Russian military threat to NATO members, and recognition of Ukrainians' right to choose their government, plus consultation with congressional committees and a 90-day review period. The Treasury licence, on its own, does not establish that this statutory process has been fulfilled.

Trump Russian Fuel Ban: What the President Said in the Oval Office

The Trump Russian fuel ban exchange was brief, but it exposed the tension between the administration's two positions. On one side, the Treasury has authorised diesel transactions through April 2027. On the other, a statute signed in 2022 still prohibits the importation of Russian petroleum products, and the administration has not claimed to have gone through the certification process the statute requires to lift it.

Trump's first instinct was to reach for the Jones Act, the century-old law requiring goods shipped between US ports to travel on American-built, American-crewed vessels. The reporter corrected him: the restriction was not the Jones Act but the 2022 legislation. The president's answer did not settle whether he believes the Treasury licence overrides the statute, whether he intends to seek its repeal, or whether he expects the tanker to be turned away.

Reactions and Quotes

The sharpest challenge to the authorisation came three days before Trump's remarks. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill wrote on 2 November to port and terminal operators, including Kinder Morgan and Phillips 66, warning them not to accept Russian diesel shipments. "The Trump Administration's authorization of Russian fuel imports directly conflicts with federal law," she wrote, arguing that the Treasury licence cannot override the 2022 statute.

Sherrill's letter was the latest in a series of warnings. Trump has previously defended the diesel decision in broader terms, saying he had "released oil into the world" and that the United States was "not gonna be hostage" to high fuel prices. His Thursday remarks did not repeat that defence. Instead, he questioned the law itself.

Why It Matters

The row matters for three reasons. First, it tests the limits of executive power: whether a Treasury licence can authorise transactions that a statute appears to prohibit, and what happens when a port operator has to choose between the two. Second, it matters for fuel markets and for the ports themselves, which face legal risk whichever way they turn — accepting a shipment that may violate federal law, or refusing one that the Treasury has authorised. Third, it matters for the politics of the Russia sanctions regime: the 2022 ban was an early, broad response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, passed with bipartisan support.

What Happens Next

Several questions will decide where this goes. The first is what the tanker does next: whether the Agioi Fanendes, carrying about 40,000 tonnes of Russian diesel loaded at Primorsk on 22 October, continues toward the US East Coast, and whether any American port agrees to unload it. The second is what "take a look" produces — whether the administration issues a legal opinion, asks Congress to amend the 2022 Act, or quietly lets the licence run to April 2027 without resolving the conflict. Congress is also likely to weigh in, since the bipartisan letters of late October showed that concern about the diesel deal crosses party lines.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Trump say about the Russian fuel import ban? During an Oval Office appearance on Thursday 5 November 2026, Trump said the 2022 law banning Russian petroleum imports was "probably" a bad law and that he would "take a look at it, sure" — but he announced no policy change.

What is General License 135? It is a Treasury authorisation issued on 9 October 2026 that permits transactions involving Russian-origin diesel, including importation into the United States, through 12:01 a.m. EDT on 7 April 2027. It covers diesel only.

Does the licence override the 2022 import ban? That is the dispute. The Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, signed on 8 April 2022, separately prohibits Russian petroleum imports, and ending it requires a presidential certification and a 90-day congressional review period — a process the Treasury licence does not by itself fulfil.

Why did Governor Sherrill object? New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill wrote on 2 November to port and terminal operators, including Kinder Morgan and Phillips 66, warning that accepting Russian diesel would break federal law because the authorisation conflicts with the 2022 statute.

Read more: Sherrill warns New Jersey ports not to accept Russian diesel; Russian diesel deal: banks and ports warned over Trump plan.