U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today applauded news that the U.S. Commerce Department has approved limited exchanges of crude oil between the United States and Mexico.

“I welcome this decision, which requires no change in the law and which the Commerce Department has the full authority to implement,” Murkowski said. “While today’s decision is a positive step toward the liberalization of our energy trade policies and comes after the urging of both Senate and House members, I remain committed to the full repeal of the ban on selling oil to our friends and allies overseas and I believe we should do so as quickly as possible.”

Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has advocated for ending the four-decades-old ban on exporting most U.S. crude oil since January 2014. That May, her energy committee staff released a report on swaps and exchanges with Mexico and other countries. In February of this year, Sens. Murkowski and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., along with 19 Senate colleagues, sent Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker a letter encouraging her to approve exchanges and authorize oil exports to Mexico under the same conditions established for exports to Canada.