American energy firms are resisting calls to accept cargoes of Russian diesel fuel that are currently in transit across the Atlantic, citing risks to their legal standing and public image. Trump administration officials have been privately urging U.S. companies to take delivery of the fuel to help stabilize energy markets, but industry sources say firms are refusing the shipments due to concerns over sanctions and the reputational cost of doing business with Moscow.

The standoff complicates an Oct 9 agreement in which Russia promised to ship more than 300,000 tons of fuel to global markets, including the U.S., to curb rising fuel costs. Despite the deal, the U.S. average price for a gallon of diesel has risen to $6.35. The effort to secure these supplies coincided with a decline in Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy sites, which allowed Russian refineries to boost their crude processing rates by 25% during the second half of October.