New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Monday, Nov. 2, sent a letter to port and terminal operators in the state stating that bringing in Russian diesel would violate federal law. The letter pushes back against a general license the U.S. Treasury Department issued last month permitting transactions in Russian diesel.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Monday, Nov. 2, sent a letter to port and terminal operators in the state warning that bringing in Russian diesel would violate federal law and could result in civil and criminal liability. The governor's office said the letter is a response to the Trump administration's decision to allow imports of Russian diesel.
According to the letter, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued "General License 135" on Oct. 9, authorizing transactions related to the sale, delivery, unloading and import into the United States of Russian diesel. The governor's office claimed that Russia has since sent several diesel tankers toward the U.S., and that at least one of them could be headed for the New Jersey coast.
Sherrill wrote in the letter that the Russian oil import ban enacted in April 2022 prohibits imports of Russian energy products into the U.S., and that a license alone cannot lift the ban unless the president certifies conditions such as Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine. She also argued that because the license amounts to a major change in foreign policy, it must go through a congressional review process, which has not yet begun.
The letter explained that anyone involved in illegal imports could face a penalty equal to the value of the imported goods, and that the statute of limitations is five years. "All port and terminal operators, brokers and buyers have been put on notice," the governor said, adding that she would use every legal and regulatory tool available to the state. The federal government's official position on the letter's legal interpretation has not yet been confirmed.