The United States is considering easing sanctions on the shadow fleet

Reuters quotes an unnamed US official as saying that the talks concern the possibility of the United States allowing the transport of "legal crude oil" on ships that were previously subject to sanctions.

We are talking about oil or petroleum products that are not covered by American sanctions, and therefore not Russian or Iranian oil, which are subject to such restrictions. Entities wishing to use shadow fleet ships for such purposes would need to obtain approval from the U.S. Treasury.

The White House believes the move will help reduce record-high freight rates for ships carrying oil. This, in turn, will enable the export of more oil and petroleum products from the Persian Gulf.

The White House did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Will there be no expected effect?

Freight rates for transporting crude oil by tanker have risen to record levels. Wars in Iran and Ukraine have driven up inflation and made American oil too expensive for Asian refineries. So they started looking for alternative supplies from the Middle East and Latin America.

However, experts interviewed by Reuters journalists noted that easing sanctions on shadow fleet ships would probably not lead to lower freight rates. They indicated that insurance companies will still be obliged to comply with the regulations of the European Union and the United Kingdom, which have no plans to lift sanctions imposed on the shadow fleet.

High oil and fuel prices are a problem for Donald Trump before the midterm elections scheduled for November 3. Republicans want to maintain control over both houses of Congress, but it cannot be ruled out that Democrats will take over both the House of Representatives and the Senate.