President Donald Trump announced several measures to lower diesel prices during a rally in Nebraska on Monday, looking to address a major concern for rural voters a month before the midterms.
Farmers and ranchers in the state and in other battleground states are frustrated with high diesel prices at the peak of harvest season. Diesel fuel prices have reached record high prices due to the ongoing war with Iran and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. The increase has angered farmers and added to persistent inflation that threatens the GOP’s hold on Congress.
Trump announced and signed the orders on stage to make more red-dyed diesel readily available. That diesel is tax-exempt and used in farming, construction and other industries. Politico reported that the package also includes a Treasury Department review of certain diesel taxes and would also urge states to waive some fuel taxes, but the immediate details aren’t clear.
Diesel is one of the several major issues causing Republicans trouble for farmers this year. Trump’s recent moves to import hundreds of thousands of tons of beef from Brazil and Argentina, and a reignited trade war with Canada, have turned one-safe races in states Trump won by large margins into competitive ones.
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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins teased the move earlier on Monday, saying that the Trump administration and the Department of Agriculture were prioritizing short-term relief for farmers at the pump and that 10 states are taking action to lower prices as well.
“In just the last few days we’ve seen the cost of a gallon of diesel go down about 15 cents,” Rollins said on Fox News. “We have more to do.”
Trump had mulled a diesel export ban but ultimately decided against it after pushback from the oil industry and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who warned it would negatively impact allies and encourage producers to cut production in response.
The decision on an export ban came after the Group of Seven countries agreed Thursday to release up to 100 million barrels of crude and diesel from emergency stockpiles over four months. The deal includes what the G7 statement called “a front-loaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days.”
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