Overview

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. seeks a partnership with Europe for tougher sanctions and secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil to drive Moscow to negotiations.
• Bloomberg reported that the EU is weighing new curbs on Russia’s oil trade, including measures against major energy firms and additional barriers, with officials set to meet U.S. counterparts in Washington this week.
• Energy Secretary Chris Wright indicated stronger U.S. action is more likely if Europe halts purchases of Russian oil and gas and increases imports of U.S. fuels, as he told the Financial Times.
• As context, the EU in July cut the Russian crude price cap to $47.60 per barrel and blacklisted more ‘shadow fleet’ tankers, traders, and India-based Nayara Energy, which has been notably affected.
• Tensions with India have escalated since the U.S. doubled tariffs to 50% on Indian imports of Russian oil, while critics citing CREA data highlight that EU fossil-fuel imports from Russia still totaled €21.9 billion in the past year.