The Trump administration is pressing European allies to tap emergency diesel reserves to counter surging global fuel prices driven by the war with Iran and lost Russian exports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged European partners to accelerate delivery on existing commitments and make additional supplies immediately available to address ongoing disruptions.
US Diesel Export Ban Threats and Global Supply Disruptions
The average U.S. price of diesel has soared by 70% since the war with Iran began, hitting 6.38 dollars per gallon on Thursday, according to data from AAA. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took to social media to demand that European partners accelerate delivery on existing commitments and make additional supplies immediately available to address ongoing disruptions.
Shortly after that post, President Donald Trump told reporters we may request that Europe release emergency stockpiles. The administration has asked the European Union to release 120 million barrels of diesel over the next six months, according to a source based in a European capital.
Europe Weighs Release of Diesel Reserves
While U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright expressed confidence that Europe would agree to tap its reserves to meaningfully push diesel prices down, the initial response from European officials remained noncommittal. Representatives from the European Commission, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, and Britain convened for a Thursday call to weigh whether diesel stocks should be released. An official at the Élysée Palace clarified that the diesel dispute never came up when French President Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump met last week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Macron is preparing to convene a video conference of G7 leaders to discuss fuel prices and the availability of refined products, with reserve releases through the International Energy Agency among the options under consideration.
We are also having high-level contacts ongoing with the U.S. administration.
Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, European Commission energy spokesperson
Refining Bottlenecks Across Russia, China, and the Middle East
Global diesel markets have tightened significantly due to multiple compounding interruptions in international trade. Energy Secretary Chris Wright outlined the scope of the crisis during a briefing at the White House.
We’ve lost some diesel exports from the Middle East, although we’re restoring those, and we’ve lost diesel exports from China. So that’s a lot of interruptions.
Chris Wright, U.S. Energy Secretary
The squeeze began earlier in the summer when Ukrainian drone strikes targeted Russian refineries, prompting Moscow to ban diesel exports to preserve domestic supply. Meanwhile, the conflict involving the United States and Iran has restricted refined oil trade, and American and European refineries have been operating near full capacity for months to keep pace with demand.
Industry Backlash and Record Fuel Prices in the United Kingdom
An outright ban on U.S. diesel exports remains a contentious policy internally. Chamber of Commerce warned in a joint letter that restrictions would lead to less fuel production, tighter supplies and rising costs for American families, farmers and truckers. Energy Secretary Chris Wright distanced himself from an outright export ban, describing it as the blunt tool of banning diesel exports definitely doesn’t work.
The fallout is hitting international allies directly. In the United Kingdom, RAC figures showed the average price of a litre of diesel reached 199.72p, surpassing the previous record high set in June 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. UK Energy Minister Martin McCluskey joined European counterparts on Thursday to coordinate a response as governments weigh whether to deploy strategic reserves.
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