President Donald Trump backed a ban on U.S. diesel exports Tuesday as pressure from Republicans grows for an embargo on the shipments to curb soaring fuel prices.
The president said he has called for the export prohibition “within my people.”
“I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “That could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline, because when you do that, it’s a sort of a flow, it’s a balance.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the administration is examining “whether it’s feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.”
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The average price of diesel continues to break records, clocking in at $6.52 on the AAA fuel prices tracker Tuesday. That’s 70% higher than before the war started Feb. 28.
Some experts argue that a ban could lead to short-term relief while creating long-term issues for the U.S. energy sector by hurting domestic refineries that produce both diesel and gasoline.
“It is always tempting in politics to try a quick fix, especially when you are down and behind in the polls,” former Florida Rep. James Bacchus, an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute and a professor of global affairs at the University of Central Florida, wrote in a piece published Tuesday. “But this proposed quick fix may not be a fix at all. In some places in the country, it could, despite its intent, lead to even higher prices at the pump.”
Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, spoke out against the ban in a statement Tuesday, saying it would hurt consumers.
“The answer is more supply and more flexibility — not new restrictions that risk making a difficult situation worse,” Sommers said.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy research group, is also among the growing number of groups criticizing any possible export ban.
Trump and Zelenskyy spoke about the strain on the fuel source at their meeting during the United Nations General Assembly.
Ukrainian forces have been aggressively striking Russian oil refineries as the 4-year-long war between the countries rages on. Over the weekend, The Financial Times reported that Trump urged Zelenskyy to halt the attacks on the Russian facilities to ease global strain on the price of gas and diesel — a crisis that has been compounded by the Iran war and the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump on Tuesday described Ukraine’s attacks on the refineries as a “serious hit” on both Russia and the price of diesel fuel globally, adding that he planned to talk more “about that” with Zelenskyy.
Trump embraced the ban as Republican lawmakers across the country — particularly in the Midwest, where the farming industry plays a major role in the economy — called for the U.S. government to intervene.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) joined Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers’ call for halting U.S. diesel exports.
“American fuel should stay home with Americans,” Sullivan said Tuesday. “The cost of diesel is just too damn high.”
Hinson and Rogers, who are running for Senate in their states, have called for the Iran war to end — though Hinson has voted against war powers resolutions that would limit Trump’s ability to take military action without seeking congressional approval, and Rogers has previously made comments supporting the U.S.’s continued efforts in the war.
Sullivan, who’s trying to hold onto his Senate seat, and Grassley have stopped short of calling for the U.S. to bring an end to the war in Iran.
This story has been updated to include statements from the American Petroleum Institute and The Heritage Foundation.
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