Trump's Russian diesel deal won't cut costs. NJ must say no | Opinion

On Oct. 9, following a phone call with President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump announced a diesel agreement with Russia , as well as a waiver issued by the Treasury Department to authorize transactions for the Russian diesel through April.

This was presented as a way to lower fuel costs for farmers and truckers, even though the initial shipment of 300,000 metric tons only covers about half a day of U.S. consumption and would, arguably, have no impact on pricing for U.S. consumers. A bipartisan group of 12 senators issued a letter to the president urging immediate withdrawal from the agreement, and to rescind the Treasury Department's waiver.

While the pushback has led two of the tankers carrying the Russian diesel to re-route their shipments , it is imperative that we keep applying pressure to ensure that not one drop of sanctioned Russian fuel reaches our shores.

The only real beneficiary to this deal is Russia, and there are current U.S. laws prohibiting the purchase of this diesel, including H.R. 6968, the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act of 2022. This legislation further solidified Executive Order 14066, which had instituted an executive-level prohibition on Russian energy imports.

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Did the president have the right to ignore that legislation and make the diesel deal?

According to a letter to the Port and Terminal Operators of New Jersey, sent Nov. 2 by Gov. Mikie Sherrill, "The Russian Oil Act does not grant the President or the Treasury Department blanket authority to waive these sanctions through licenses. Rather, it provides a single avenue by which prohibitions may be lifted short of repeal: the President must certify that, among other things, Russia has agreed to withdraw its forces from Ukraine."

Since Russia has made no such agreement, it appears that the president is not in compliance with that provision.

According to Gov. Sherrill's letter, "Even if the Russian Oil Act could be circumvented through an executive branch license, because General License No. 135 is 'a licensing action that significantly alters United States' foreign policy with regard to the Russian Federation,' it can take effect only upon completion of a congressional review process that has not even been initiated, let alone completed."

In fact, Congress was not even in session at the time the Russian diesel deal was made.

President Trump's Russian diesel deal puts American workers at risk

Gov. Sherrill appealed to the Port and Terminal Operators of New Jersey not to participate in an illegal importation of Russian fuel due to potentially significant consequences as they "shall be liable to a penalty equal to the value of the article or articles introduced or attempted to be introduced," leaving them vulnerable to millions of dollars in penalties for a period of five years, as per the statute of limitations.

President Trump also reversed course in October on legislation he signed into law in September

In response to Russia's continuation of its illegal invasion of Ukraine and its refusal to engage in meaningful peace negotiations, Congress passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act by a vote of 86-11 in the Senate and 262-159 in the House,. President Trump signed it into law on Sept. 18. This legislation specifically imposes extensive new tariffs and sanctions on Russia, as well as on countries that purchase Russian energy products and other critical exports. Apparently to allow the Russian diesel deal, President Trump waived the sanctions in the law he had just signed only two days before it was to take effect.

It has been widely reported that the Russian deal would not help to lower the cost of diesel domestically.

And since the U.S. is the world's largest exporter of diesel, why would we even need to purchase from Russia?

So, who does this diesel deal really help?

Unfortunately, only Russia.

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Russia's economy is highly dependent on its oil and gas industry, and with the current sanctions imposed by the U.S. and many other countries throughout the world, it is in serious decline. It relies heavily on that income to help fund not only its own war against Ukraine, but also to provide aid to Iran against the U.S. In essence, by giving Putin an economic lifeline, we are further enabling Russia to help Iran against … ourselves.

It is imperative that Americans stand up for what is in America's interests, and helping to fund Vladimir Putin's unprovoked, illegal, genocidal war against Ukraine certainly is not!

Jacquie Colgan of Bloomfield is the New Jersey state delegation leader for the American Coalition for Ukraine.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Trump's Russian diesel deal won't cut costs. NJ must say no | Opinion