Fact checkPoliticsPublished October 12, 2026

“President Trump is not complying with the 2022 law banning Russian oil imports regarding the Russian diesel deal.” — Thom Tillis. Our verdict: Unverified.

“President Trump is not complying with the 2022 law banning Russian oil imports regarding the Russian diesel deal.” — Thom Tillis. Our verdict: Unverified.
Thom TillisSpeechOctober 12, 2026

Senator Thom Tillis made the claim in an interview on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on 11 October 2026, and repeated it in comments reported on 12 October 2026.

Our verdict

Unverified

We could not confirm or refute the claim that President Trump is not complying with the 2022 law banning Russian oil imports over the Russian diesel deal. The law and a Treasury authorisation appear to conflict, and no court or other authoritative body has settled which one wins.

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What we found

The Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, passed in April 2022, bans imports of products under chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which covers diesel. On 9 October 2026, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135, which authorises transactions for importing Russian-origin diesel into the United States through 7 April 2027. Those two things sit awkwardly together, and the public record does not show which takes precedence.

Senators, including Thom Tillis, have said the deal may break the law. But those are political statements, not legal rulings. We found no court judgment, no formal legal opinion and no enforcement decision that resolves the conflict between the 2022 statute and the Treasury licence. Without that, the claim that the president is not complying remains unproven either way.

The evidence

3 of 6 sources support the claim; none contradict it.

Contradict 0Support 3Background 3
When each source was published
congress.gov · Apr 2022 · supports the claimautomotivelogistics.media · Mar 2025 · backgroundU.S. Department of the Treasury · Oct 2026 · supports the claimU.S. Department of the Treasury · Oct 2026 · supports the claimUnited States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations · Oct 2026 · backgroundUSA TODAY · Oct 2026 · backgroundApr 2022Oct 2026
  • Supports the claim

    The Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act was enacted on 8 April 2022 and bans imports of all products under chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which includes diesel. [1]

  • Supports the claim

    The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on 9 October 2026, authorising transactions related to importing Russian-origin diesel into the United States through 7 April 2027. [2]

  • Supports the claim

    The Treasury announced the issuance of General License 135 on 9 October 2026. [3]

  • Background

    Senator Thom Tillis and six other senators issued a statement on 11 October 2026 alleging that allowing Russian diesel imports violates the 2022 law. [4]

  • Background

    Tillis said in a 'Meet the Press' interview on 11 October 2026 that the Russian diesel deal may be illegal and that there is a case for saying the president is not following the law. [5]

  • Background

    A report says President Trump announced a deal with Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel on 9 October 2026. [6]

What we could not confirm

  • Whether General License 135 legally overrides the 2022 ban on Russian oil imports.
  • Whether any court or authoritative legal body has ruled on the conflict between the 2022 law and the Treasury authorisation.
  • Whether any executive power or waiver not covered in the public record legally permits the imports.

How we checked

We looked at the text of the 2022 law, Treasury records on General License 135, and statements from senators and news reports about the diesel deal. We found no court ruling or formal legal opinion that settles whether the licence or the law takes precedence. We reviewed 11 relevant sources.

Sources

  1. [1]congress.gov · Public Law 117–109 · April 8, 2022
  2. [2]U.S. Department of the Treasury · Office of Foreign Assets Control - General License No. 135 · October 9, 2026
  3. [3]U.S. Department of the Treasury · Issuance of Russia-related General License · October 9, 2026
  4. [4]United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations · Ranking Member Shaheen and Six Bipartisan Senators' Statement on Legality of Imports of Russian Diesel Fuel · October 11, 2026
  5. [5]USA TODAY · Sen. Thom Tillis says Trump's Russian diesel deal may be illegal · October 11, 2026
  6. [6]automotivelogistics.media · Tariff timeline: Trump's Korean tariff threat and Russian diesel deal · March 4, 2025
  7. [7]Original statement · Speech · October 12, 2026
  8. [8]Photo: United States Senate Photography / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Help us check this claim

We could not find enough public evidence to confirm or refute this claim. If you know of an official record, dataset, transcript or report that settles it, send us the link. We review every submission and update this fact check when the evidence changes the picture.

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