Among the final acts of the Biden administration was a 60-day waiver that allowed a dozen sanctioned Russian banks to conduct financial transactions related to energy purchases with European banks. The waiver extended an exemption to banking sanctions made earlier in the Biden years to make it possible for European consumers to keep buying Russian oil and gas with American dollars, minimizing the damage to European economies.
The Biden administration was ostentatiously imposing new sanctions on Russian oil as President Joe Biden prepared to leave office in January, but still made sure a carve-out was quietly in place for European energy purchases. The waiver was, however, given an unusually short expiration date of only two months, where six months is more common. The 60-day waiver expired at midnight on Wednesday and the Trump Treasury Department chose not to renew it, according to “four people familiar with the plans” who spoke to CBS News. (Read More)
