Democratic Senators: Trump administration gives China a 'free-pass' on Russian LNG

Democratic U.S. Senators called on Trump officials to resume targeted sanctions against Russian energy supplies on Friday, claiming that the administration allows China to purchase shipments of Russia’s liquefied gas which supports the war in Ukraine.

Donald Trump said that he was frustrated by the failure of Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a peaceful agreement with Ukraine.

Trump, however, has not imposed direct sanctions against Russian energy companies during his second term. He has instead imposed an additional 25% tariff on goods imported from India in response to buying Russian oil.

The Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia was supposed to start in 2023, but it is now behind schedule due to shortages in carriers and sanctions imposed by the West on Russia prior Trump's return. Last October, the project was forced to stop operations. The project has, since August, loaded six LNG cargoes and discharged four in a Chinese port.

In a letter sent to Scott Bessent, Secretary of Treasury and Marco Rubio, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse wrote: "The failure to enforce existing sanctions against Russia, and the apparent willingness to allow China to buy Russian oil without any restrictions, fundamentally undermines efforts to end the war, and impact the Kremlin’s calculus during negotiations."

Senators claimed that the evasion of sanctions sends a message to other potential buyers, that they can purchase Russian LNG without consequences. This could allow Russia to earn tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars that would be used for funding the war.

Requests for comments were not immediately responded to by the Departments of State or Treasury.

Senators have asked officials to answer questions by October 1. These include whether the administration has prepared sanctions to be associated with cargoes in order to reinforce the existing U.S. measure on the project, and whether they intend to discourage other major energy importers to buy LNG. (Reporting Timothy Gardner, additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Nick Zieminski).

(source: Reuters)