Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the Trump administration is considering whether implementing a ban on diesel exports would ease record high prices for the critical fuel.
“We are looking at whether it is feasible in terms of overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would be effective,” Bessent said during a bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the United Nations.
President Trump said Tuesday that he is advocating for a ban on diesel exports during deliberations within his administration. The president said a decision on whether to implement the ban would be made “in some form or another” quickly.
“We’ve been saying, let’s stop pumping out diesel. We produce a lot of diesel,” Trump told reporters. Republicans, including Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, are calling for an export ban as rising diesel prices hurt farmers and truckers ahead of November’s midterm elections.
U.S. diesel prices soared to a record high of $6.53 a gallon, nearly $3 above last year’s level, according to AAA data. In California, diesel costs $8.44 per gallon.
Fuel prices have soared as wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have reduced global refining capacity.
Ukraine’s attack on a Russian refinery forced the Russian government to implement a diesel export ban. Refineries in the Middle East have also come under attack from Iran and its Houthi allies. Additionally, Iranian threats to tankers have restricted product exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
The American Petroleum Institute, an oil industry lobbying group, warned that “restricting U.S. energy exports would only make the problem worse by exacerbating refining challenges and ultimately harming consumers.”
“The answer is more supply and greater flexibility, not new restrictions that risk exacerbating a difficult situation,” API CEO Mike Somers said in a statement.
U.S. refiners are rushing to take advantage of this benefit, ramping up diesel exports to supply the world and reap huge profits. Diesel prices on Tuesday were about $207 per barrel, more than $100 more than crude oil prices.
Diesel plays an important role in the economy. It provides fuel for the trucks and trains that deliver goods to market and for the agricultural equipment that harvests crops. Higher diesel prices impact consumers by increasing the amount they pay for groceries and consumer products.
