{"text":[[{"start":8.45,"text":"The US has extended a waiver on Russian oil sales as President Donald Trump tries to contain a rise in fuel prices that has stoked voter frustration over the cost of his Iran war. "}],[{"start":21.549999999999997,"text":"Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that his department would issue a new 30-day licence “to provide the most vulnerable nations with the ability to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea”."}],[{"start":34.349999999999994,"text":"The move is the second extension of a waiver introduced by the Trump administration in March that allowed Russian oil subjected to sanctions to flow to global markets as part of Washington’s efforts to stem a surge in the price of oil. "}],[{"start":47.14999999999999,"text":"“This general license will help stabilise the physical crude market and ensure oil reaches the most energy-vulnerable countries,” Bessent wrote on X. "}],[{"start":55.79999999999999,"text":"The Trump administration has struggled to contain a jump in oil prices since the president launched his war against Iran in late February. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has risen by more than half to trade at more than $110 a barrel on Monday. "}],[{"start":71.69999999999999,"text":"That has driven up prices at the pump, with US petrol prices rising 51 per cent to $4.52 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. Diesel, a crucial input for US industry, has risen by a similar margin to $5.63 a gallon, approaching its all-time high. "}],[{"start":92.64999999999999,"text":"A paper published on Monday by Brown University found the war in Iran had cost Americans more than $40bn in additional fuel costs since its outbreak. "}],[{"start":103.3,"text":"Voter frustration has mounted over the rising cost of the conflict, with a recent FT poll finding that 58 per cent of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living. "}],[{"start":113.6,"text":"The administration has taken a range of steps to reduce prices at the pump, from releasing record volumes of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and easing restrictions on shipping and environmental regulations on fuel, to proposing the suspension of federal taxes on petrol and diesel. But they have had limited success."}],[{"start":130.9,"text":"The waivers on Russian oil have proved particularly controversial and led to accusations that Washington is bolstering Moscow’s war chest. "}],[{"start":139.75,"text":"Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren said on Monday that the decision to extend sanctions relief amounted to “dangerous and indefensible gift to Vladimir Putin”."}],[{"start":150.85,"text":"“Every additional dollar the Kremlin earns from this license helps Putin finance his illegal war against Ukraine and kill innocent Ukrainians,” they wrote in a statement. “With gas prices continuing to rise and inflation spiking, the administration has not shown that this relief is lowering costs for American families or stabilising global energy markets.”"}],[{"start":171.29999999999998,"text":"Bessent, who previously indicated there would be no extensions to the waiver, said on Monday the move was designed to ease the strain on unnamed poorer nations while Washington worked with them to issue country-specific licences. "}],[{"start":182.85,"text":"“It will also help reroute existing supply to countries most in need by reducing China’s ability to stockpile discounted oil,” he added. "}],[{"start":200.54999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779166775_6389.mp3"}