Politico: EU officials optimistic Trump will drop diesel export ban plan

Senior European Union officials have expressed cautious optimism that US President Donald Trump will abandon the idea of imposing a 90-day ban on diesel exports as governments seek to contain rising fuel prices, Politico reports.

According to the report, Irish Energy Minister Darragh O’Brien, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said he had received assurances from Trump administration officials in Washington last week that such a ban was unlikely.

“Obviously, any 90-day diesel ban would have distinct impact on us in the EU,” O’Brien told reporters ahead of an EU energy ministers’ meeting in Dublin. However, “from the information that I was able to glean in D.C. last week, there doesn't seem to be a push to do that.”

EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen also welcomed comments from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who has said that a diesel export ban would not work.

Trump earlier this month expressed support for temporarily restricting diesel exports as prices rose amid disruptions linked to the war in Iran and Russia’s restrictions on fuel exports following Ukrainian strikes on its refineries.

A US diesel export ban could have a significant impact on European energy markets. US diesel accounts for more than half of the EU’s diesel imports and around 10% of its consumption, according to S&P Global Energy.

“We're not going to be complacent about it,” O’Brien said. “But when you talk to others around the administration as well, it doesn't look like that's something that would happen. I think there would be an impact for the United States themselves, the diesel ban, as well as the impact on other fuels.”

The White House is currently considering alternatives to a full export ban, including allowing wider use of red-dyed diesel, while also seeking voluntary commitments from US refiners to limit exports.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov