HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) \u2014 Top Senate Democrats urged the Trump administration to reinstate sanctions for Russian oil on Friday.<\/p>\n
Sens. Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren and Jeanne Shaheen said in a joint statement that the Treasury must not renew its permit for sales and deliveries of the petroleum. The department relieved some years-old sanctions last month to alleviate pressure on the global oil market, which has been strained during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is incumbent on the Trump Administration to reverse this dangerous policy, ensure that Russia does not reap any additional benefit and prevent the United States from further boosting Putin\u2019s war machine,\u201d the lawmakers said.<\/p>\n
The Treasury\u2019s license expired on Saturday. It\u2019s unclear whether the department, which hasn\u2019t returned The National News Desk\u2019s request for comment, will extend it.<\/p>\n
Roxanna Vigil, an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former senior sanctions policy advisor for the Treasury, estimated <\/a>earlier this month that Russia could have received between $3.3 to $5 billion in March revenue from the sanctions relief. Other foreign analysts have concluded that Moscow is also sharing intelligence with Iran in its war against the U.S. and Israel.<\/p>\n The conflict has caused an oil supply shock that has disrupted the global market, sending petroleum prices soaring for countries across the world. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last month that temporary sanctions relief would help stabilize the oil trade and provide a nominal benefit for Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s pro-energy policies have driven U.S. oil and gas production to record levels, contributing to lower fuel prices for hardworking Americans,\u201d Bessent said in a social media post<\/a>. \u201cThe temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term.\u201d<\/p>\n Oil prices<\/a> have risen by around 30% since the start of the war, causing gas costs to surpass $4 a gallon across the country. It may take some time for the prices of both products to normalize.<\/p>\n Neale Mahoney and Ryan Cummings, members of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, said in a blog post last month that the Trump administration has few options to stabilize the markets, aside from reopening the Iranian-controlled Strait of Hormuz<\/a>. Shipments through the Middle Eastern passage, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil usually travels, have grounded to a halt.<\/p>\n \u201cMoreover, opening the Strait won\u2019t fix things overnight,\u201d the researchers wrote. \u201cIt takes time to ramp up production of oil fields and refineries, and that\u2019s not to mention the time needed to repair and rebuild facilities that were damaged by Iranian missiles and drones.\u201d<\/p>\n