Trump-Putin Diesel Deal Totals 4.8 Million Tonnes, FT Reports

Trump says the Putin diesel deal totals 4.8 million tonnes

Donald Trump said his deal with Vladimir Putin covers up to 4.8 million tonnes of Russian diesel released onto the global marketplace, the Financial Times reported. The figure is the sum of the four tranches Trump announced on Truth Social: 300,000 tons immediately, 500,000 in November, one million tons after that, and another three million tons to follow.

The Treasury Department has already cleared the legal path. It issued a general license waiving sanctions on Russian diesel imports through April 2027, the first diesel license longer than 30 days since the Ukraine war began. Without it, no Russian barrel could legally enter the United States.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Tass the country is "immediately starting to lift restrictions on diesel exports ahead of schedule," with US supplies possible as early as October. That is the first Kremlin-adjacent confirmation of the deal, though Novak's framing of export "restrictions" being lifted is narrower than Trump's claim of a done deal.

The backdrop is a genuine diesel squeeze. AAA puts the national average at $6.28 a gallon, up from $5.94 a month ago and $3.68 a year ago. The IEA estimates Russian diesel output is down roughly 30% after Ukrainian strikes on refineries, which is why the market is skeptical of the headline number.

What would settle it is physical confirmation: tankers chartered, loadings at Russian terminals, and Russian diesel clearing US customs. Until then, the 4.8 million tonnes is Trump's claimed total, not yet a single confirmed barrel on the water.

Source: Financial Times, Associated Press, Tass, AAA, IEA.