US President Donald Trump has urged advisers to back restrictions on diesel exports as record fuel prices intensify political pressure ahead of November’s midterm elections, according to a Bloomberg report carried by gCaptain. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said officials were assessing whether a full or partial ban would be workable given the country’s refining capacity.
Trump discussed the proposal on Tuesday during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. He also said he would raise Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, which have prompted Moscow to restrict fuel shipments. The report linked record diesel prices to the wars in Iran and Ukraine. Citing AAA, it put average US retail diesel prices above $6.50 a gallon that week, with petrol at $4.48.
Republican senators Chuck Grassley and Dan Sullivan have advocated export curbs, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune has expressed willingness to examine restrictions. Sullivan favours limiting diesel shipments until the Iran war ends. The fuel is particularly important for agricultural machinery and electricity generation in rural Alaska, making its rising cost a concern for constituencies represented by those lawmakers.
Industry groups argue that retaining more fuel domestically would offer only temporary relief. The National Ocean Industries Association and American Petroleum Institute warned that restrictions could disrupt supply chains and worsen refining difficulties. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum have also opposed a ban. Wright said storage could fill within two to three weeks, forcing refineries to reduce throughput and pushing petrol prices higher.
The regional consequences would differ, the report said. Diesel could accumulate along the US Gulf Coast, which has substantial refining and export capacity, without bringing equivalent relief to the Northeast. Limited pipeline capacity and Jones Act requirements for US-built and US-operated vessels carrying cargo between domestic ports constrain redistribution. Although Trump has eased some of those shipping restrictions, decisions remain subject to case-by-case review.
Trump acknowledged that diesel export limits could also affect petrol, since refineries produce both fuels. The administration’s deliberations follow his meeting with refiners earlier in the month to discuss expanding fuel production. The report also noted that legislation repealing most US crude export restrictions in 2015 retained presidential powers to restrict foreign sales or require export licences for up to a year under specified circumstances.