Treasury Renews Russia Oil License After Bessent Said It Wouldn't

The Treasury Department late on April 17 renewed a Russia-related general license that authorizes the delivery and sale of loaded Russian oil, two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. wouldn't be renewing the license.

The license, General License 134B, authorizes certain transactions that are "ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or offloading" of Russian crude oil loaded on any vessel before 12:01 a.m. ET April 17. Those transactions are authorized through 12:01 a.m. ET on May 16.

A previous version of the license, General License 134A, had expired April 11.

Treasury and the White House didn't immediately respond to requests for information about why the U.S. reversed Bessent's stated position.

Three Senate Democrats – Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y.; Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, N.H.; and Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, Mass. – issued a joint statement calling the decision “shameful” and a “180-degree reversal” from Bessent’s pledge not to renew the license. They said the Trump administration should impose additional sanctions on Russia, not give it sanctions relief that will help it continue its war against Ukraine.

New OFAC License Permits Deliveries of Loaded Iranian Oil Through April 19

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new general license late on March 20 that authorizes the delivery and sale of Iranian oil that was loaded onto a vessel as of March 20. General License U specifically authorizes certain transactions that are "ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Iranian origin loaded on any vessel," including vessels blocked under various sanctions programs listed in the license, through 12:01 a.m. ET on April 19.

OFAC said those permitted transactions also include any related to the safe docking and anchoring of vessels carrying the oil, the health or safety of the crew of the vessels, emergency repairs or environmental protection, and services such as "vessel management, crewing, bunkering, piloting, registration, flagging, insurance, classification, and salvage." OFAC said the license doesn't authorize any transactions involving North Korea, Cuba or Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, including Crimea.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a social media post, called the license a "narrowly tailored, short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea."

"This temporary, short-term authorization is strictly limited to oil that is already in transit and does not allow new purchases or production. Further, Iran will have difficulty accessing any revenue generated and the United States will continue to maintain maximum pressure on Iran and its ability to access the international financial system," Bessent said.

He also said the move "will quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets, expanding the amount of worldwide energy and helping to relieve the temporary pressures on supply caused by Iran."

New OFAC License Permits Deliveries of Loaded Russian Oil Through April 11

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new general license late on March 12 that authorizes the delivery and sale of Russian oil that was loaded onto a vessel as of March 12. General License 134 specifically authorizes certain transactions that are "ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Russian Federation origin loaded on any vessel," including vessels blocked under various sanctions programs listed in the license, through 12:01 a.m. ET on April 11.

OFAC said those permitted transactions also include any related to the safe docking and anchoring of vessels carrying the oil, the health or safety of the crew of the vessels, emergency repairs or environmental protection, and certain vessel management services such as "crewing, bunkering, piloting, registration, flagging, insurance, classification, and salvage." OFAC said the license doesn't authorize any transactions involving Iran.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a social media post, called the license a "temporary measure" that will allow countries to buy Russian oil that he said is "stranded at sea."

"This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction," Bessent said.

He also said the move is aimed at helping lower global oil prices, which have increased in the aftermath of U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. "@POTUS is taking decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets and working to keep prices low as we address the threat and instability posed by the terrorist Iranian regime," Bessent said.

Updated Pentagon Chinese Military Company List Back Online Following Withdrawal

A Pentagon notice adding and removing various entities from the agency's list of companies with ties to the Chinese military appears in the PDF version of the Feb. 17 Federal Register that is currently available on federalregister.gov, despite its withdrawal from publication by the Defense Department the previous day.

The notice, which has a publication date of Feb. 17, says the Pentagon is adding major technology companies Alibaba, BYD, RoboSense, BOE Technology, WuXi AppTec, Cosco Shipping and others to its 1260H List while removing others, including ChangXin Memory Technology (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp. (YMTC).

YMTC and CNOOC are on the Commerce Department's Entity List. YMTC is currently challenging its listing in federal court.

The notice doesn't include a specific effective date.

The Office of the Federal Register on Feb. 13 said it had received a letter from the Defense Department "requesting withdrawal" of the notice soon after it was placed on public inspection that same day. A Pentagon spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about why the letter was withdrawn Feb. 13 and re-released Feb. 14. A webpage displaying the notice was deleted from federalregister.gov after we asked for comment.

A Pentagon official told the Financial Times Feb. 14 that the agency planned to re-release the list next week.

Companies on the 1260H List face certain government contracting restrictions. Lawyers and companies also view companies on the list as compliance risks because of the potential for them to be added to more punitive U.S. restricted party lists.

BIS to Ease License Review Policy for H200 Chips, Equivalents

The Bureau of Industry and Security is easing its license review policy for exports of Nvidia H200 chips and their equivalents that are destined to China and Macau, BIS said in a final rule released Jan. 13 and effective Jan. 15. License applications for those chips will be reviewed under a case-by-case policy instead of a presumption of denial as long as the semiconductors set to be exported are commercially available in the U.S. and the exporter can attest to several certifications, including that there is “sufficient supply” in the U.S.; the chip has “sufficient security procedures”; that production of the chip won’t “divert global foundry capacity for similar or more advanced products for end users in the United States”; the chip had undergone third-party testing; and more.