FT: Trump is considering a ban on diesel exports to curb the price crisis
Amid political and industrial pressure, the US administration is considering drastic measures to bring down diesel prices, involving its European allies as well
Donald Trump held emergency talks with his advisers to assess whether to impose a ban on diesel exports or other measures to contain the fuel crisis that threatens to undermine his Republican Party’s mid-term election campaign. This is reported by the Financial Times online. According to sources close to the matter, the British newspaper adds, the US president’s advisers have put forward several options, including restricting international diesel sales, and administration officials have informed foreign allies, including the UK, of possible supply disruptions.
A White House official told the Financial Times that Trump is ‘considering all the options on the table’ to bring down domestic fuel prices and that no decision has yet been taken on suspending exports. The President is at the centre of a lobbying battle between his Republican allies – who are concerned about the political impact of soaring diesel prices, which have hit farmers and industry particularly hard – and the oil companies, who are opposed to giving up lucrative exports.
Pressure from the Republicans
Republicans from agricultural states, led by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, have put pressure on the administration, fearing repercussions in the mid-term elections. Tim Burchett, a Republican MP from Tennessee and the sponsor of a bill to ban diesel exports, warned that the party could lose its majority. According to a leading figure in the sector quoted by the FT, the ban was “practically on the verge of being implemented” last week, following pressure from Grassley and other Republicans from agricultural states.
Talks with European allies
Meanwhile, the White House has begun talks with its European allies with a view to possible restrictions. Energy Secretary Chris Wright spoke with British officials on Monday, whilst Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held talks with Robert Jenrick, a member of Reform UK, who had asked Washington to abandon the ban or to exempt the UK.
The Trump administration has also urged its European allies to draw on their own diesel reserves and has discussed the possibility of asking China to increase production at its refineries. Oil companies, for their part, have stepped up pressure on the White House. Some members of the administration, including Wright, the Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Bessent, have also spoken out against the ban.
