Treasury: US to Maintain Ban on Russian Oil Imports Even After Implementation of Price Cap on Crude

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States will maintain the previously imposed ban on Russian oil imports even after the implementation of the price cap on maritime crude oil imports originating from the country, according to preliminary guidance published by the US Treasury.

"Pursuant to Executive Order 14066 …, the United States has imposed a prohibition on the importation of Russian Federation origin crude oil; petroleum; and petroleum fuels, oils, and products of their distillation. This prohibition will remain in place alongside the US implementation of the maritime services policy and price exception," the guidance said on Friday.

Purchasing significant amounts of Russian oil above the agreed price cap or providing fraudulent information or documentation of the transactions may result in sanctions enforcement, the department's guidance also revealed.

"Persons that make significant purchases of oil above the price cap and knowingly rely on service providers subject to the maritime services policy, or persons that knowingly provide false information, documentation, or attestations to such a service provider, will have potentially violated the maritime services policy and may be a target for a sanctions enforcement action," the guidance said on Friday.

The guidance released by the department further indicated that the price cap mechanism on Russian oil implemented by the Group of Seven (G7) countries will provide protections for maritime service providers unknowingly involved in cases resulting from falsified records.

"This record keeping and attestation process is designed to create a 'safe harbor' for service providers from liability for breach of sanctions in cases where service providers inadvertently deal in the purchase of seaborne Russian oil above the price cap due to falsified records provided by those who act in bad faith and make material misrepresentations," the notice read.

The price cap will be set through a collaborative process of countries who agree to participate in the price cap coalition.

It will take effect on December 5 for crude oil and on February 5, 2023, for refined products. Moscow has pledged to stop exporting Russian oil to those states that would apply the price caps.