The Trump administration is pressing France and Germany to open their emergency diesel reserves, warning it could otherwise bar U.S. exports of the fuel.
The warning increases U.S. pressure on Europe while President Donald Trump weighs banning diesel exports to bring fuel prices down before the November midterm elections, three people familiar with the talks told Reuters.
Diesel averaged $6.39 a gallon nationwide Thursday, up from $3.71 a year earlier, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
The U.S. has asked the European Union (EU) to draw down 120 million barrels from its diesel stockpiles within six months, a source in a European capital told the news agency.
Germany and France together hold about 35 percent of the bloc’s emergency reserves of diesel and similar fuels, Reuters reported, citing Eurostat data from May 2025. The volume the U.S. requested would equal more than 40 percent of what all EU member states keep in reserve.
The Department of Energy, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
The API, which represents the oil and natural gas industry, wrote in a Sept. 28 post on X that restricting exports “could disrupt refinery operations” and reduce fuel production.
Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday that a ban would “have a negative impact on gasoline” prices but could lower diesel costs.
The president’s administration has also considered asking refiners to cap exports voluntarily and letting more tax-exempt diesel be sold, according to Reuters.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters the same day that diesel exports from China had been lost and that some from the Middle East were being restored. He added that the administration expects Europe to announce additional diesel supplies shortly.
Chinese refiners have stopped exporting fuel anywhere except Hong Kong and Macau until the government allows shipments to resume, and PetroChina canceled several of its October gasoline and jet fuel cargoes, Reuters reported Thursday.
Officials from the European Commission, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland and Britain met by phone Thursday on whether to tap diesel stocks, an EU official told the news agency. French President Emmanuel Macron also plans to host a virtual meeting of G7 leaders on rising fuel costs and the supply of refined products, an official in his office told the outlet.
France’s energy ministry declined to comment, and Germany’s economy ministry did not immediately respond, the news agency reported.
In March, the International Energy Agency (IEA) committed its members to a release of roughly 400 million barrels of emergency crude and fuel stocks, with the U.S. pledging 172 million barrels, according to Reuters.
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