Leading Democrats in the U.S. Congress have asked the largest American banks and ports to preserve all documents related to potential imports or other transactions involving Russian diesel fuel.
Who the letters were sent to
The official letter was addressed to leading Wall Street institutions: JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Similar written notices were sent to the administrations of the ports of Houston, Beaumont, Corpus Christi and New York/New Jersey.
The letter emphasises that “any import of Russian diesel into the United States raises serious legal issues and could be grounds for litigation and investigations,” the document says.
Actions demanded of banks and ports
The lawmakers demand a complete halt to the purchase, transportation, import, offloading, storage, financing or distribution of Russian diesel fuel in the United States, and that banks and ports do not facilitate such deals in other markets.
The document requires financial and port institutions to preserve a wide range of materials, including contracts, shipping documents, vessel records and any correspondence with suppliers, intermediaries and U.S. officials. The lawmakers expect recipients to confirm the preservation of materials and to provide detailed information about deals with Russia (the Russian Federation) by Wednesday.
Details of the agreements between Trump and Russia
On 9 October Trump announced that Russia will immediately export 300 000 metric tonnes, or 2,25 million barrels of fuel; in November it will send 500 000 tonnes, and after that — a further 1 million tonnes. On 10 October Trump held talks with Putin and announced agreements on large-scale exports of Russian diesel fuel to the U.S. and global markets.
Following these statements, the U.S. Treasury Department suspended the relevant sanctions. Analysts say the volumes announced are unlikely to materially affect global prices because they are too small to overcome the global shortfall.
