President Donald Trump announced Friday he was ruling out a ban on diesel exports, insisting the measure was never seriously under consideration, hours after European allies agreed to release fuel reserves.
“Europe has a lot of diesel, and they’re going to be making a major world contribution, and so are we,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a campaign trip.
Trump added: “We’re not going to be doing the export ban. It was never really ever on the table, but what Europe did was a great thing.”
The president had repeatedly signaled openness to suspending diesel exports over the previous two weeks, a move that would have marked the first U.S. energy export restriction since the Obama administration lifted a decades-old oil export ban in 2015.
Just over a week before Friday’s announcement, Trump said “I’ve called for that” when asked directly about the possibility of a diesel export ban.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright and key allies in the oil industry publicly condemned the ban idea, warning it could cause serious economic harm to countries reliant on U.S. diesel imports and ultimately push pump prices higher at home.
Those advisers urged Trump to instead pressure European governments into tapping their strategic fuel stockpiles, prompting an intense public and private diplomatic campaign by Trump administration officials across Europe.
The seven G7 nations agreed to “a coordinated release through the IEA of 100 million barrels to begin immediately over four months, including a frontloaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days,” according to a joint statement released by French President Emmanuel Macron’s office.
POLITICO reported Friday that the U.S. had effectively strong-armed hesitant European Union governments into releasing their diesel supplies by threatening the export ban, with one European diplomat labeling the pressure “blackmail.”
Macron convened a video call of G7 leaders, comprising also Britain, Japan, Canada, Germany, and Italy, to coordinate a joint response after speaking directly with Trump.
A White House official said Trump spoke with Macron late Thursday and then with G7 leaders Friday morning to negotiate the stockpile release.
The G7 leaders also reaffirmed mutual commitments on trade, stating: “We reaffirm our commitment to refrain from export restrictions on energy and energy products between G7 countries and call on all producers to refrain from imposing bans that could exacerbate market tensions.”
The announcement came against the backdrop of a record surge in diesel prices, with U.S. diesel averaging $6.37 per gallon amid wartime supply disruptions affecting global energy markets.
Diesel powers farm equipment, U.S. shipping operations, and heating systems in rural communities, meaning the price spike has rippled broadly through the economy and pushed up costs for a wide range of consumer goods.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of the G20 trade ministers gathering in Milwaukee that a U.S. export ban would have “dramatic consequences for our economic performance.”
Some U.S. officials were cautious about the export ban strategy, uncertain it would deliver immediate price relief and wary that foreign retaliation could send higher global prices back onto American consumers.
Two diplomats suggested to Politico that Friday’s announcement may amount to a reiteration of a previous pledge, noting the 100 million barrels is roughly equivalent to one day of total global oil consumption.
Resolving the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East remains the most direct path to easing the diesel supply crisis, analysts noted, with Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries having contributed to recent supply shocks.
