Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he supported the idea of a ban on diesel exports, which some US politicians are calling for as a way to curb the rising cost of energy. Diesel prices have rebounded in Europe and the United States to record levels as wars in Iran and Ukraine slashed exports from some of the biggest producers, including Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A gallon of diesel fuel in the United States cost $6.53 on Tuesday, the highest average on record and more than 75% more than a year ago. “I’ve said let’s not send diesel. We make a lot of diesel… I’ve asked for it. I’ve asked for it within my people,” Trump told reporters before a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at the same meeting, said: “We are examining whether it is feasible in terms of overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.” On Sunday, Trump urged Zelenskyy to call off attacks on Russian oil refineries over fears they could drive up prices even further, the Financial Times reported. On social media, Trump wrote that Russia “unfortunately lost control of its diesel industry.” Some Republican Senate candidates in the most competitive midterm elections called on the administration to implement the export ban to try to alleviate high costs for Americans. “Iowans are being squeezed and should not have to pay the bill at the pump or at the checkout line for the war in Iran,” U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican who is in a competitive Senate race in Iowa, wrote in X. “We need to use every option at our disposal to alleviate high prices.” In a statement, the trade group American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers said an export ban would be “counterproductive,” noting that domestic refiners would have to reduce production and that “producing less diesel also means producing less gasoline.” Trump said he and Zelenskiy would discuss Ukrainian attacks on refineries in Russia. “It is a serious blow for the Russians and also a serious blow for the price of diesel,” he said. Trump, who also told reporters that the two leaders would discuss finding a solution to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I think it’s going to happen,” Trump said, of a possible solution to the war. Reuters contributed to the report
