Trump Moves to Tighten Sanctions on Russia’s Oil, Gas, and Banking Sectors

U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to impose stricter restrictions on Russia’s oil, gas, and banking industries, further limiting the country’s access to U.S. financial systems, CBS News reports.

According to sources familiar with the plan, the U.S. Treasury Department allowed a 60-day exemption—introduced by the Joe Biden administration in January—to expire on Thursday, March 13. The exemption had permitted specific energy transactions involving sanctioned Russian banks to continue.

With the waiver now lifted, major Russian financial institutions—including Vnesheconombank, Sberbank, VTB Bank, Alfa-Bank, Rosbank, and the Central Bank of Russia—can no longer use U.S. payment systems for large energy transactions.

This move is expected to make it more difficult for other countries to purchase Russian oil, potentially tightening global supply and causing oil prices to spike by up to $5 per barrel.

The new sanctions also come as the Trump administration attempts to negotiate a 30-day ceasefire with Russian President Vladimir Putin to ease tensions in the ongoing Ukraine conflict.