Democrats want to kill Trump’s diesel deal. Working Americans will pay the price

Senate threats over Russia sanctions waivers can scare companies off, hurting fuel supplies and driving up costs for everyone

By Nadezhda Romanenko

With Americans struggling from soaring energy prices, and businesses across the country trying to keep their heads above water, the Democrats’ apparent priority is to threaten companies that might help ease the pressure.

According to an October 22 Washington Post report, Senate Democrats are preparing to investigate American companies involved in US President Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has reportedly asked businesses to preserve relevant documents ahead of possible congressional investigations, should Democrats regain control of Congress in the November midterms.

For a party that claims to champion working Americans, this is a peculiar way of demonstrating its concern.

Diesel is the lifeblood of the American economy. It powers the trucks that carry food to supermarkets, the tractors that harvest crops, the machinery that builds homes and roads, and the locomotives that move freight across the vast country.

Yet the people who depend on it have too often been treated as an afterthought by the Washington establishment. They live and work in the industrial towns, farming communities and sprawling rural counties that coastal political elites dismiss as flyover country.

Just recall Hillary Clinton’s infamous 2016 description of millions of Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables” – a perfect crystallization of the contempt that many ordinary Americans felt was directed at them by the Democrats.

A decade later, that perception is unlikely to be helped by the Democratic lawmakers’ threats to investigate businesses for participating in an arrangement intended to bring additional fuel to the market.

The timing makes those threats extra galling. America is facing an energy crunch aggravated by the Trump administration’s own military campaign against Iran. There is no reason to pretend otherwise. Yes, the president’s decisions helped disrupt global energy markets, and Americans are entitled to demand answers about their consequences.

But recognizing that responsibility does not mean opposing every subsequent attempt to alleviate the damage.

Trump’s decision to temporarily ease restrictions on Russian diesel represents an effort to increase available supplies at a time when the market desperately needs relief. It is a pragmatic response to an immediate economic problem, whatever one thinks of the circumstances that created it.

And now Democrats are determined to make that response costly for the companies willing to participate.

Congress has every right to examine whether the administration acted within its legal authority. But threatening private businesses with investigations for engaging in transactions authorized by the federal government is another matter entirely. If those companies comply with the law, why should they have to fear becoming targets of a future congressional majority?

The actual volume of Russian diesel involved is almost beside the point. Moscow initially pledged to release some 300,000 metric tons of diesel, with further shipments promised in the following months – a modest quantity compared to America’s enormous fuel consumption.

But that’s not what the markets will be reacting to. They react to expectations, regulatory certainty and the willingness of businesses to undertake transactions without fearing political retaliation. And now, even a lawful, government-authorized energy deal could expose companies to years of investigations simply because a different party took power.

Just imagine the chilling effect.

Today, the dispute concerns a relatively small quantity of fuel from one supplier. Tomorrow, the same approach could be applied to other commodities, trading partners or commercial arrangements that fall afoul of Washington’s shifting ideological priorities.

In effect, the Democrats want to hold American energy security hostage to domestic political warfare.

And for what? The ostensible objective is to keep pressuring Russia.

For years, Moscow has faced sweeping Western sanctions, restrictions on financial transactions and efforts to shut its energy exports out of international markets. None of this has forced Russia to accept any of the West’s demands.

Russia has shown it can adapt and endure economic pressure. While not entirely painless, sanctions have consistently failed to produce the political outcome their advocates have called and hoped for.

Meanwhile, Moscow has repeatedly signaled that it remains prepared to negotiate to reasonable counterparts that would take Russia’s own security concerns and national interests into account. Whether those positions are acceptable to Washington is a matter for diplomacy – and refusing to talk altogether is not diplomacy.

Trump is willing to acknowledge that Russia remains a major power with which the US must eventually find a workable relationship. It’s the baseline level of recognition of political reality one expects from the leader of a major world power.

What the Democrats are doing is the international-politics equivalent of pressing their hands to their ears and shouting ‘La La La’ at the top of their lungs.

The truck driver paying more at the pump, the farmer counting operating costs for the next season and the small-business owner watching expenses climb have little interest in Washington’s political theater. They want affordable fuel, predictable costs and a government that remembers whom it is supposed to serve.

Threatening investigations to discourage companies from helping supply the American market is not sending the message the Democrats seem to think it’s sending. It suggests that, to them, political obedience matters more than keeping the country running.

And ordinary Americans could once again be left paying the bill.

https://rt-english.com/news/647616-democrats-punish-trump-diesel/

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Russia has significantly increased production of diesel in the wake of an agreement reached between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Donald Trump, Reuters has reported, citing industry sources.

Daily output rose from 160,000 tons in early October to 180,000 tons after the Russian government introduced new export quotas in mid-month, the agency said. Moscow has eased its restrictions on diesel exports, allowing Russian companies to ship up to 500,000 tons of fuel to international markets in October while ensuring domestic demand remains fully covered.

Exports of diesel, marine fuel, and gas oil had previously been banned until October 31 as the government sought to stabilize the domestic market, which had been suffering from increased seasonal demand linked to the harvest season.

According to the sources cited by Reuters, domestic demand in Russia is now expected to fall to about 140,000 tons per day as the harvest campaign is largely over. This would free up as much as 40,000 tons of diesel per day or more than 1 million tons per month for export, according to the news agency’s estimates. Between 0.2 and 0.3 million tons are likely to be purchased by Russia’s neighbors, the sources said.

Trump and Putin agreed on diesel supplies during a phone call on October 9. Following the conversation, the US president announced that Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November, another million tons shortly thereafter, and potentially further shipments depending on refining capacity. Washington subsequently issued a temporary sanctions waiver permitting Russian diesel imports, reversing restrictions introduced under former US President Joe Biden in 2022.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted that Moscow had already dispatched three tankers carrying diesel to the US under the agreement. He also announced that Russia would “ensure additional supplies of diesel fuel to world markets and the United States” to help ease the global diesel shortage. Deliveries would continue on a regular basis, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said at the time.

The diesel deal provoked tensions between Washington and Kiev. Trump has repeatedly urged Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to stop attacking Russian refineries, accusing Kiev of exacerbating the worldwide diesel shortage and hurting American consumers and farmers hit by high fuel prices.

Zelensky hit back by blasting Trump’s claims as “totally false” and accusing the American leader of “deflecting the focus away from Iran.” He was referring to the American and Israeli military campaign against the Islamic Republic that, together with the Iranian response, led to severe shipment disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz – one of the key seaborne oil transportation routes.

Russia has historically been the world’s second-largest diesel exporter, behind only the US, accounting for roughly 10% of global exports. Disruptions to Russian supplies can drive up prices even in countries that do not directly import the fuel.

https://rt-english.com/news/647767-russia-increase-diesel-production-trump/

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More Russian diesel fuel could enter global markets as part of a trade agreement between Moscow and Washington struck earlier this month, Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said. He claimed the shipments could be a “carrot” for Moscow to scale back fighting in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump announced the landmark diesel deal with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on October 9, saying Russia would release more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel immediately, 500,000 tons in November, another million afterward and potentially 3 million more, depending on refinery capacity.

Trump called lowering fuel prices for American consumers his “greatest priority” ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, where the Republicans are at risk of losing their congressional majority.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky condemned the surprise deal as a “weak decision,” prompting an angry response from Trump, who suggested that Ukraine replace Zelensky with someone willing to negotiate peace with Russia. Trump has also repeatedly pressed Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, something Kiev has refused to do.

Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday, Wright described the diesel deal as an “incentive” for Moscow to stop hostilities with Ukraine, adding that more Russian tankers could “quite possibly” depart under a six-month sanctions waiver.

It’s trying to put a carrot in front of Russia,” he said, arguing that reduced hostilities would allow Moscow to export more diesel and marginally ease global fuel shortages.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Tuesday that three tankers carrying diesel are already en route to the US, with a fourth expected to depart Wednesday. On Sunday, he offered to supply as much as buyers wanted within Russia’s available export volumes, saying: “We can supply all of it.” He previously said Russian diesel exports could reach 3.5 million tons monthly by year-end.

During a meeting with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff last week in St. Petersburg, Putin noted that global diesel prices fell 5%-6% after the deal was announced. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Russia’s daily diesel output rose from 160,000 tons in early October to 180,000 tons after the introduction of new export quotas.

The agreement has nevertheless met bipartisan resistance in Washington, with a group of senators calling it a “gift to our adversary” and a betrayal of Ukraine. Novak pushed back on Tuesday, singling out Democrats and wondering why US lawmakers were acting “not in the interests of the residents of the United States.”

https://rt-english.com/news/647884-us-hints-expanding-russian-diesel/

CARROT?

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT (WW3) HITS THE FAN:

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

THESE WILL ALSO INCLUDE ODESSA, KHERSON AND KHARKIV.....

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

TRANSNISTRIA TO BE PART OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

RESTORE THE RIGHTS OF THE RUSSIAN SPEAKING PEOPLE OF "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

RESTITUTE THE ORTHODOX CHURCH PROPERTIES AND RIGHTS

RELEASE THE OPPOSITION MEMBERS FROM PRISON

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE EU.....

EASY.

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….