Washington Presses France and Germany on Diesel Reserves as Export Ban Threat Looms

The Trump administration has told Germany and France to draw down emergency diesel inventories to help ease global fuel prices, threatening to cut off American diesel exports if they do not, according to Reuters sourcing cited by The Independent. Officials from the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Ireland held talks on Thursday morning to discuss whether they need to release their own emergency stocks.

What Washington Is Asking For

According to a source in a European capital cited by Turkiye Today, Washington has asked the European Union to release 120 million barrels of diesel over the next six months. U.S. officials believe France and Germany have not fully followed through on earlier commitments to release emergency oil and petroleum stocks, a point Reuters has previously reported.

A U.S. official told Reuters: "It is in Europe's best interest to work with the United States as we pursue multiple pathways to boost the supply of refined products and lower costs for consumers." Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday he expected announcements soon from Europe on new diesel supplies, pointing to lost diesel exports from the Middle East and China. "So that's a lot of interruptions," he said.

Asked directly about a potential export ban, President Trump told reporters at the White House: "I'm thinking about it." He said Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum believe a ban could lower diesel prices domestically but might raise prices for other products, including gasoline, an internal tension the administration appears still to be weighing.

Europe's Response and Thursday's Talks

European officials have not embraced the idea. European Commission spokesman Olof Gill called a possible ban "a bad idea" last week, saying: "We expect close partners to consult each other before taking measures that affect shared markets." French President Emmanuel Macron said he had warned Trump that a ban "would be bad" and would raise prices, adding: "We are not directly dependent."

An Elysee official told Reuters that Macron and Trump had not discussed the issue directly at the U.N. General Assembly, but that Macron would convene a G7 video conference on fuel prices and coordinated reserve releases together with the International Energy Agency. The EU's Oil Coordination Group is due to meet next week as Brussels weighs its formal response to the possible U.S. move.

Thursday's talks among UK, German, French, Italian and Irish officials focused on whether those governments need to tap their own emergency stockpiles, per The Independent's reporting. No outcome from the meeting has been reported.

Why Diesel Has Gotten This Tight

The pressure stems from a shift in global supply lines. The European Commission says the U.S. supplied about half of the EU's diesel imports in August, with Europe's reliance deepening after it banned Russian fuel imports and as the Iran war disrupted Middle East flows. Trump has attributed the diesel shortage mainly to disruptions at Russian refineries amid the war in Ukraine; Russian diesel exports have fallen as Ukraine has intensified strikes on Russian refining capacity, adding extra demand for cargoes from other exporting countries, according to The Independent.

On the U.S. side, diesel prices hit a record $6.53 a gallon on Sept. 22 before easing to $6.41 on Sept. 30, according to the American Automobile Association as reported by Turkiye Today, a decline of $0.12, or roughly 1.9%, by our calculation (6.53 minus 6.41, divided by 6.41). Retail signage photographed in Los Angeles on Sept. 22 showed diesel above $8 a gallon at a truck stop, while a Shell station displayed diesel above $8 a gallon and regular gasoline above $6, according to imagery cited by Turkiye Today, underscoring the retail pain driving Washington's urgency.

The UK Caught in the Middle

Britain was not named in Washington's demands to Paris and Berlin, and The Independent reports it is not known whether the UK would be covered by any export ban. It is nonetheless exposed to the same dynamic. The Independent reports that Britain holds around 42 days' worth of emergency diesel stockpiles and relies on the U.S. for about a third of its diesel imports. UK diesel prices reached an all-time high this week, with thousands of forecourts charging more than £2 a litre, surpassing the previous peak of 199.09p set in June 2022, according to the same report.

John Healey, identified by The Independent as UK chancellor, said he was taking the threat of a ban "very seriously," telling the BBC: "We're also making the provision that we may need to and we have our own stocks in the UK." British officials are in separate talks with Washington over the possible export ban, and Andy Burnham has said he would seek a UK exemption if the policy goes ahead, per The Independent.

Domestic Pushback in the US

Domestic Pushback in the US

Bottom Line

Washington has put a specific number on the table, a request for 120 million barrels of EU diesel releases over six months, according to a source in a European capital cited by Turkiye Today, and is weighing an export ban that both Turkiye Today and The Independent report is tied to bringing down fuel prices before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with domestic diesel at $6.41 a gallon on Sept. 30 against the Sept. 22 record of $6.53. European officials, including Macron and the European Commission, have pushed back on the ban idea even as Thursday's multi-country talks indicate governments are weighing contingencies, including possible stock releases of their own. Whether Paris and Berlin draw down reserves in the volumes Washington wants, and whether the threatened ban materializes, remains unresolved pending next week's EU Oil Coordination Group meeting and Macron's planned G7 video conference with the IEA.