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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Two tankers exporting Russian diesel under a deal between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will not arrive in the U.S., it has been reported, as experts told Newsweek the U.S. president's move to lower gas prices could never succeed.
Trump issued waivers on sanctioned Russian energy for diesel to enter the U.S. to ease both gas prices and concerns for Americans as they voted in the midterms.
But two out of the three Russian diesel cargoes bound for the U.S. have now diverted to other destinations, according to independent Russian outlet Agentstvo and the Financial Times.
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Trump Says Ukraine Needs New Leader Amid Dispute Over Russia Diesel Deal9 min read
Jaime Brito, executive director, refining and oil markets, Dow Jones Energy, told Newsweek that the quantities of diesel involved in Trump's deal with Putin "was never enough" to have an impact at the pump.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.
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What Was Trump's Deal With Putin?
Trump's diesel deal with Putin came only weeks after he had signed a tough sanctions bill championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham punishing purchasers of Russian oil.
Following Trump's call with the Russian leader on October 9, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a temporary general license until April, allowing transactions involving Russian diesel, including imports into the United States.
Kyiv, its allies and some U.S. lawmakers condemned the move as undermining the sanctions bill that had just been passed and funding Putin's war machine.
But the FT and Agentstvo have suggested that the plan unveiled 25 days before the midterms which delivered resounding defeats for the GOP, was already unraveling.
The outlets reported that the Russian tanker Talisman and the Sierra Leone-flagged tanker Leruo, owned by a Hong Kong company, no longer listed the U.S. Atlantic coast as their destination.
Citing Marine Traffic, the Talisman has passed the Strait of Gibraltar and its destination is uncertain, while the Leruo has changed its direction to Brazil for order, Agentstvo said.
Matt Smith, an analyst at intelligence platform Kpler, told the FT that there is "apparent hesitancy from U.S. buyers" for the fuel due to regulatory, legislative and sanction issues.
He told the outlet that regarding another vessel, Agioi Fanendes, which is due to arrive in New York this weekend, "it wouldn’t be too surprising if this tanker diverted away from the U.S. as well.”
Alexander Kirk, a sanctions campaigner at Urgewald, said Trump may have issued the license for Russian diesel, but Democrats are set to control Congress, and companies have to decide whether they want to be caught in the middle.
"Banks, ports and fuel distributors have already been told they could face legal action and investigations for handling these cargoes," he told Newsweek.
"The Graham Act has been waived, not erased. Taking Putin’s diesel may look a lot less attractive when you could have to explain that decision to Congress," he added.
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Why Can't Trump's Deal with Putin Work?
Trump's move to allow Russian energy into the U.S. angered many but did not stop significant GOP losses in the midterms and have not eased prices at the pump that spiked due to the Iran War which closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Brito said that the world has lost around 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of diesel exports so far this year due to a combination of the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran.
This includes around 800,000 bpd of Russian diesel exports, due to bans implemented after Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.
Trump's deal with Putin aimed to immediately provide the world with the equivalent of 250,000 bpd or so, with a maximum of 400,000 bpd promised in case Russian refineries had the capability to export, Brito said.
"This announcement was not enough to even compensate the original loss of Russian exports, let alone the remaining of the lost volume from the Middle East and Asia," he said.
"Any additional volume from Russia or other suppliers is directionally helpful, but more volume is necessary to substantially reduce diesel prices in this disrupted environment," he added.
Berlin-based Energy analyst Thomas O'Donnell said U.S.-bound Russian diesel would only make "a very minor contribution to lowering the price" of gas at the pump.
"Trump wanted to signal that he's doing something but obviously that was not effective as we see by the results of the midterms," he told Newsweek.
Trump is also pushing to reopen the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline, which could revive Russian exports of the fuel to Europe by using a U.S. intermediary to get around sanctions, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.
The plan was floated by Trump envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff during their visits to Moscow and Kyiv with the aim of incentivizing Putin into stopping attacks on energy infrastructure ahead of winter, the WSJ said.
"Trump is doing a repeat of what he did earlier in his administration when he first came in office in early 2025—offering Putin effusively big enticements, many of which have to do with energy, in return for a deal to end the war," said O'Donnell.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and Emma Lee-Sang
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