Summary
The Biden administration is considering new sanctions on Russia’s oil exports and shadow tanker fleet to further weaken its economy and war efforts before Trump takes office.
These measures aim to bolster Ukraine’s leverage in potential negotiations as Trump has signaled interest in a quick resolution to the war.
While targeting Russian crude buyers—similar to sanctions on Iranian oil—could pressure Russia, it risks spiking global oil prices and straining ties with major importers like China and India.
Biden’s shift reflects urgency to constrain Putin before U.S. policy potentially shifts under Trump.
That’s certainly part of it but the 2nd half of the article touches on the ramifications to other parts of US and Western foreign policy and relations. If the US goes full on, such as direct sanctions on buyers of Russian O&G there would be deep impacts to China and India, two countries where we are already trying to thread a foreign policy needle.
It is, unfortunately, a balancing act.