Trump threatens diesel export ban to pressure Europe on reserves
- The Trump administration has signaled that France and Germany could face a potential U.S. diesel export ban if they refuse to tap their emergency diesel stockpiles.
France and Germany could face a potential U.S. diesel export ban if they refuse to tap their emergency diesel stockpiles, the Trump administration has signaled, according to Reuters , which cited three people familiar with the matter.
Another source, based in a European capital, told the outlet the U.S. has asked the European Union to release 120 million barrels of diesel over the next six months. According to an E.U. official who spoke to Reuters, the European Commission, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, and Britain convened a call Thursday to weigh whether diesel stocks should be released.
According to Reuters, U.S. officials are frustrated that France and Germany have failed to honor pledges they made to draw down emergency oil and petroleum reserves. "It is in Europe's best interest to work with the United States as we pursue multiple pathways to boost the supply of refined products and lower costs for consumers," a U.S. official told the outlet.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters on Wednesday that the administration expected announcements from Europe soon on new diesel supplies. "We've lost some diesel exports from the Middle East, although we're restoring those, and we've lost diesel exports from China," Wright said. "So that's a lot of interruptions."
According to an Elysee Palace official, the diesel dispute never came up during the meeting French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump held last week at the UN General Assembly in New York. The official added, however, that Macron plans to call a G7 video summit to tackle surging fuel costs and tightening global supplies of refined products, with reserve releases through the International Energy Agency among the options on the table.
The warning represents an escalation of pressure on Europe as Trump weighs a diesel export ban to bring down fuel prices ahead of November's midterm elections. Trump said last week he has advocated internally for a ban , telling reporters "I've said let's not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel." AAA data showed the national diesel average reached a record $6.53 a gallon last Tuesday, roughly $3 higher than the same point a year earlier.
Major business groups and energy industry analysts have pushed back against the export ban idea. The American Petroleum Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and allied organizations warned in a joint letter that a ban would "lead to less fuel production, tighter supplies and rising costs for American families, farmers and truckers." Wright himself has distanced himself from an outright ban, saying "the blunt tool of banning diesel exports definitely doesn't work."
The region's reliance on American fuel has deepened since Europe cut off Russian energy imports in response to the Ukraine war and the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran choked off supplies from the Middle East, according to Reuters.
