Trump Faces Pushback Over Diesel Export Ban: Business Leaders Warn of Higher Costs for Farmers and Truckers
Some of the largest U.S. business groups are warning President Donald Trump against restricting diesel exports, arguing that a ban intended to bring down prices could instead reduce domestic fuel production and push costs even higher for American consumers, farmers and truckers.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, American Petroleum Institute and dozens of other trade groups sent a joint letter to Trump on Wednesday urging the administration to reject proposals to ban or limit U.S. diesel exports.
“By restricting exports, refiners would be forced to cut production, leading to less fuel production, tighter supplies and rising costs for American families, farmers and truckers,” the groups warned.”You have been asked by some to ban or limit the export of diesel to help lower prices, when in fact the opposite would occur,” the letter said.
The intervention from major business organizations comes as Trump faces pressure to address soaring fuel costs ahead of the midterm elections, particularly from Republican lawmakers representing agricultural states where diesel is essential for farming and transportation. Diesel averaged about $6.51 per gallon nationwide Thursday, according to AAA, compared with $3.69 a year earlier. The price reached a record national average of $6.5276 on Sept. 22.
Trump publicly embraced the possibility of restricting exports Tuesday while attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel,” Trump told reporters. “I’ve called for it within my people. I’ve been talking about it.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent subsequently said the administration was studying whether an export ban would be feasible given U.S. refining capacity and whether a full or partial restriction could work.
The prospect of action rattled energy markets after Politico reported Wednesday that the White House was preparing a potential 90-day ban. Diesel futures and shares of major U.S. refiners fell following the report.
But Energy Secretary Chris Wright has pushed back against a blanket prohibition, telling The New York Times that restricting diesel exports could have unintended consequences for other fuels. Wright said Wednesday that “nobody wants a full blanket ban or zero exports of diesel.”
The concern centers on how U.S. refineries operate. Refiners produce diesel alongside gasoline, jet fuel and other petroleum products. If companies lose access to overseas markets for excess diesel, analysts say they could respond by reducing refinery runs rather than continuing to produce fuel they cannot profitably sell.
That could initially push diesel prices lower in parts of the United States where supplies accumulate, but reduced refinery output could eventually tighten supplies of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel and drive prices higher.
The debate is unfolding amid an unusually tight global fuel market. Russia, previously one of the world’s largest diesel exporters, has restricted exports after Ukrainian attacks damaged Russian refining infrastructure. Meanwhile, instability in the Middle East has placed additional pressure on global energy supplies, including disruptions linked to Iran and the Houthis and constraints around the Strait of Hormuz.
