President Donald Trump is preparing to impose additional restrictions on Russia’s oil, gas, and banking sectors. According to CBS, Trump’s plan will target Russian access to U.S. payment systems, as reported by four sources familiar with the matter.
On Thursday, March 13, the U.S. Treasury Department allowed a 60-day exemption, initially put in place by the Biden administration in January, to expire. This exemption had permitted specific energy transactions with sanctioned Russian banks to continue.
With the waiver now expired, these Russian banks will no longer be able to access U.S. payment systems for significant energy transactions. Among the financial institutions previously exempted were Vnesheconombank, Bank Financial Corporation Otkritie, Sovcombank, Sberbank, VTB Bank, Alfa-Bank, Rosbank, Bank Zenit, Bank Saint-Petersburg, and the Central Bank of Russia.
The decision to tighten access to American banking systems is expected to complicate global efforts to purchase Russian oil, potentially reducing its availability worldwide. This could result in a price hike of up to $5 per barrel, reversing the recent trend of lower prices.
These new restrictions also coincide with the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into accepting a 30-day ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.