New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill sent a letter to port and terminal operators warning that buying or unloading Russian diesel fuel could expose them to civil or criminal penalties. The letter is dated November 2.
Sherrill argued that the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) General License No. 135, issued on October 9 to authorize certain transactions involving Russian diesel, conflicts with the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act of 2022. In her view, lifting the ban established under that law requires a presidential certification that specified conditions have been met, while a substantial change in US policy toward Russia is subject to congressional review. That is the governor's legal position, not a court ruling on the validity of the federal license.
In the letter, Sherrill pledged to use the state's available legal and regulatory powers to prevent the fuel from being unloaded at New Jersey ports. The warning is addressed to port operators, intermediaries and buyers. It does not itself enact a new state law or establish that the federal authorization has been revoked.
The letter followed reports that tankers carrying Russian diesel were headed toward the US East Coast. Sherrill urged operators not to accept the cargo and warned that, under her interpretation of the law, penalties could be comparable to the value of the imported fuel.