President Donald Trump said he has called for a ban on diesel exports as his administration weighs options for curbing all-time high fuel prices driven by the conflicts in the Middle East and Europe.
“I’ve called for that too. I’ve said, let’s not send out the diesel,” Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
“We make a lot of diesel. It could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline because when you do that, you know it’s a sort of a flow. It’s a balance,” he added.
Trump said a decision would come “fast, one way or the other.”
The United States has been facing record-high diesel prices due to the supply chain constraints caused by the wars in Iran and Ukraine. Trump’s remarks were made as he sat alongside his Cabinet members and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration is examining a ban on “whether it’s feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.”
As of Tuesday, the national average price of diesel is $6.52 a gallon, a record high. High diesel prices strain key economic sectors, including agriculture. Diesel is used to power trains, trucks, heavy machinery, and other equipment.
More Republicans have called on the president to impose a ban on diesel exports in recent days, specifically those representing agricultural states.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) last week called on the president to place an embargo on diesel exports to help lower prices. Grassley noted that farmers and the agricultural sector would soon see prices soar because of the high cost of fuel.
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), who is running for Senate against Democratic nominee Josh Turek, said Republicans should “use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”
Hinson also called for a gas tax suspension and utilizing higher-ethanol fuels, known as E15, as well as creating relief programs for farmers and truckers.
Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) has also asked the administration to impose a 90-day ban on U.S. diesel exports.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) last week told reporters he would be willing to consider a ban.
However, fuel experts have warned against banning diesel exports, stating that doing so could backfire.
Garrett Golding, assistant vice president for energy programs at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, wrote on X on Monday that a diesel ban could place temporary downward pressure on wholesale prices in the U.S., especially in the Gulf Coast.
But he noted that removing U.S. diesel exports would reduce global supply, eventually pushing diesel and distillate prices higher. Those price hikes would affect parts of the U.S. that rely on imports, such as the East Coast.
He also noted that refineries that could no longer export diesel would quickly run out of storage space and be forced to reduce their run rates.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan also cautioned against a ban.
“An export ban could temporarily depress Gulf Coast diesel prices, but there’s no guarantee that relief reaches the regions with the highest prices, and over time it could cut refinery runs and tighten supplies of other fuels, gasoline included,” De Haan wrote.
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The war in Iran has slowed shipments of fuel flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, a key trading waterway.
Russia has halted its exports of diesel. The restriction is expected to be extended beyond the end of the month. Before the ban, Russia accounted for nearly 10% of global seaborne diesel supplies. Ukraine has also attacked key Russian refineries.