Donald Trump on Tuesday said he backed the idea of a ban on diesel exports, which some US politicians are calling for as a way to curb the soaring cost of energy.
Diesel prices have rallied in Europe and the US to record highs as wars in Iran and Ukraine sharply cut exports from some of the biggest producers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A gallon of diesel fuel in the US was $6.53 on Tuesday, the highest average on record and over 75% higher than a year ago.
“I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel … I’ve called for it. I’ve called for it within my people,” Trump told reporters ahead of a meeting with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, speaking at the same meeting, said: “We’re examining whether it’s feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.”
On Sunday, Trump urged Zelenskyy to pause strikes on Russian oil refineries over concerns that they could further push up prices, the Financial Times reported. On social media, Trump wrote that Russia “unfortunately lost control of its Diesel Oil Industry”.
Some Republican Senate candidates in the most competitive midterm races called for the administration to implement the export ban to try to alleviate high costs for Americans.
“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” wrote the US representative Ashley Hinson, a Republican who is in a competitive Senate race in Iowa, on X. “We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”
In a statement, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers trade group said that an export ban would “backfire”, noting that domestic refiners would have to reduce production and “producing less diesel also means producing less gasoline”.
Trump said he and Zelenskiy would discuss Ukrainian attacks on refining sites in Russia.
“It is a serious hit on the Russians. It’s also a serious hit on the price of diesel,” said Trump, who also told reporters the two leaders would discuss working out a solution to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“I think it’s going to happen,” Trump said, of a potential solution to the war.
Reuters contributed reporting
