Trump ‘very seriously’ eyeing off diesel export ban in potential blow for prices
US President Donald Trump is looking “very seriously” at banning diesel exports as his domestic support wavers following record-high fuel prices amid the war in Iran.
Trump said he is still looking “very seriously” at stopping the flow of diesel from his country on Monday, despite admitting it would potentially cause fuel prices to rise.
US President Donald Trump is weighing up a ban on US diesel exports. AP
“That can oftentimes lead to a little bit of an increase on gasoline for cars, so we’re looking at it very seriously, we may do it,” he said, according to the Bloomberg.
It comes after the president called for a ban ahead of a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart on Tuesday.
“I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel,” he told reporters.
“I’ve called for it. I’ve called for it within my people.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright have both confirmed the administration is examining the proposal.
Diesel prices have reached record highs in both the US and Europe as the war in Ukraine and Iran cut exports from some of the world’s biggest products such as Russia and Saudi Arabia.
In Australia, which consumes the most diesel per capita, the price of diesel has risen by seven per cent to nearly $3 a litre, according to the federal government’s latest fuel data.
There are 32 days of diesel in the nation’s fuel reserves.
Australia does not directly import diesel from the US, instead relying on refineries in the Asia-Pacific, such as South Korea, Japan and Singapore.
Fuel prices have been surging in the US. AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt, File
But Trump’s potential ban on diesel could push prices up further and leave Australia vulnerable to global shortages.
The US is the world’s largest diesel exporter, sending out about 1.2 million barrels of diesel per day, almost one-quarter of its total production, which primarily goes to Latin America and Europe.
This has helped alleviate some of the shortages caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which remains largely closed for the 30th consecutive week since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February, and Russia and China’s ban on refined fuel exports.
Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping during his first visit to the White House in a decade last week and discussed ways to end the war in Iran, alongside artificial intelligence and trade relations.
Despite the monumental nature of the meeting, the pair wrapped up their talks with little to announce but a two-month extension of a trade truce.
Over the weekend, Trump rejected Iran’s seven-day peace deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
With there being no end in sight for the war in Iran, the Australian government faced questions on whether it would reintroduce its fuel excise cut.
That idea was ruled out by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who told News24 on Sunday that the government was not considering the policy.
“What we are focused on is these other cost-of-living measures and managing the budget in the most prudent way possible, which gives us the space to look at cost of living as we go forward,” he said.
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