Washington presses Europe to open its diesel reserves or face an export ban

The United States pressured European allies to release diesel reserves as President Donald Trump considered an export ban¹. US officials told France and Germany to release diesel stocks or face a US export ban, sources said⁶. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters that the administration expected announcements soon from Europe about new diesel releases⁶. At an Oval Office briefing, Wright said “you will hear announcements from our friends in Europe”⁷.

Wright told Fox News that he was “highly confident” Europe could help ease soaring global fuel prices by releasing stocks^3,4. OilPrice framed the message as a US threat of a diesel export ban unless Europe releases its stockpiles⁷. Politico reported that Wright was asking for oil releases as an alternative to imposing a ban on exports⁵. Euronext carried the same Reuters report of Wright’s confidence that Europe would act³.

Europe’s answer

European countries agreed on an “assertive” response to the US pressure on diesel⁵. The United Kingdom is in talks with EU partners over fuel reserves after the Trump diesel threat¹¹. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met his counterparts this week at a G20 trade meeting¹.

Greer called it a “very good conversation” in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Milwaukee, where he is hosting those counterparts². Greer said the administration is looking to collaborate with Europe on diesel¹³. He said in the same interview that the administration is aware of the pressure the situation is creating¹³. Greer was hosting G20 partners as the administration pressed its case on diesel².

What to watch

Trump said a diesel export ban is still on the table⁹. He also said he was thinking about a ban but that it seemed likely to have a negative impact on gasoline¹⁰. He acknowledged warnings, including from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, that a broad export ban could have unintended consequences⁸. Bloomberg Law reported that Trump downplayed the prospect of an export ban because of its impact on other fuels⁸.

Trump said last month that Ukrainian attacks on Russian production facilities were causing a global diesel shortage¹². President Vladimir Putin said Russia will not supply diesel to global markets until sanctions are lifted¹². That leaves two possible sources of relief, European stockpiles and Russian barrels, each gated by a political condition^5,12.