Warren, Kaine, Van Hollen, Alsobrooks Urge Administration to Act Against China’s Open Evasion of U.S. Sanctions on Russian Energy

Warren, Kaine, Van Hollen, Alsobrooks Urge Administration to Act Against China's Open Evasion of U.S. Sanctions on Russian Energy

"One month ago, we pressed you specifically to counter China's brazen defiance of U.S. sanctions Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project - a revenue stream worth billions for Russia's war machine that had previously been disrupted by consistent, targeted U.S. sanctions."

"You refused to act, and the consequences have become impossible to ignore: Russia has now offloaded its tenth shipment of sanctioned LNG to a Chinese port."

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calling for the Trump Administration to counter China's continued flouting of U.S. sanctions on a flagship Russian energy project. The Trump Administration failed to provide answers to the Democratic Senators' September 19th inquiries into the Administration's plans to resume sanctions on those attempting to deal with the project. Yesterday, Treasury resumed targeted sanctions on Russian oil companies after an unprecedented nine-month pause - but has not restarted sanctions aimed at those who have been evading U.S. sanctions.

"You refused to act, and the consequences have become impossible to ignore: Russia has now offloaded its tenth shipment of sanctioned LNG to a Chinese port," wrote the Democratic Senators. "What began as a test of American credibility has become a conspicuous failure of sanctions enforcement, emboldening Russia and China while undermining our own national security and stated objective to help end the war in Ukraine."

The Senators criticized the Trump Administration for undermining the power of American sanctions: "Each cargo of sanctioned Russian gas that arrives in China without consequence sends an unmistakable signal to every potential sanctions evader worldwide - that U.S. warnings carry no weight and that Putin can outlast American pressure while continuing his brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians. The U.S. sanctions regime, built over years and successfully deployed to halt Arctic LNG 2 operations last year, is being rendered toothless through inaction against evaders."

"You failed to respond to the questions we posed on September 19, even as Treasury has worked during the shutdown to bail out Argentina's wealthy hedge fund investors in order to help out the President's political ally before an election. We expect answers to all previously submitted questions no later than November 6, 2025," the Senators concluded.

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