The national average price of diesel has surged to $6.52 a gallon, up sharply from $3.69 a year earlier, driven by supply disruptions linked to conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
The White House was reported to be preparing a 90-day ban on diesel shipments, which would represent the first U.S. energy export curb since 2015, when the Obama administration lifted a long-standing crude oil export ban.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright moved to distance himself from the proposed ban, arguing that a mandatory restriction would cause more economic damage than it would prevent.
Wright stated plainly that “the blunt tool of banning diesel exports definitely doesn’t work,” signaling his preference for a softer, industry-led approach to the problem.
Wright explained the interconnected nature of refinery output, warning that forcing diesel to stay domestic could backfire by suppressing overall refining activity and lifting prices on other fuels.
“The U.S. exports a lot of diesel. We’re the largest diesel exporter in the world, but that same refinery that produces diesel also produces gasoline and jet fuel,” Wright said, outlining the structural risk of a hard ban.
Wright added that if refiners ran out of storage for diesel they could not export, they would be forced to reduce throughput, which “would put upward pressure on gasoline prices and jet fuel prices.”
Instead, Wright said his department was pursuing a cooperative strategy, stating: “We are working with the industry, sort of, for a more cooperative effort to increase the supply of diesel in the United States and stop the upward price pressure.”
Wright further argued the goal “can be done in a simpler, voluntary, cooperative fashion, without using blunt instruments that would reduce refining throughput,” framing collaboration as the more effective path.
President Trump had told aides a day earlier “let’s not send out the diesel,” and confirmed publicly that he had “called for that,” adding political pressure to an already contentious internal debate.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration was examining whether a full or partial export restriction would be the more workable option, suggesting the policy debate remained unresolved.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told CNBC he was “not at all confident” such a plan would “actually lower the price” of diesel, and cautioned that foreign retaliation could ultimately cost American consumers more.
The White House denied the original report, which was based on accounts from five people familiar with the internal discussions, and noted that the legal framework for any export ban was still being developed.
