Big Oil Frets Over Trump’s Plan To Slash Diesel Prices

The oil industry is pushing back after President Donald Trump floated a temporary ban on diesel exports to deal with skyrocketing prices. 

Trump told reporters Tuesday that he might look at placing an oil export embargo on diesel as a response to rising prices as the war with Iran continues. The average price for a gallon of diesel rose above $6 for the first time ever in September. 

“I’ve called for that, too. I said, ‘Let’s not send out the diesel.’ We make a lot of diesel. I’ve called for it — I’ve called for it with my people,” Trump said during a trip to the United Nations on Tuesday, adding that a decision on a possible embargo would be coming soon. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the administration was considering the possibility with diesel prices driving up costs across the board. Despite Bessent’s comments, Energy Secretary Chris Wright appeared skeptical on Wednesday during comments at a climate event that an export ban would actually lower prices.

Politico reported Wednesday that the administration was considering a 90-day diesel export ban, but the White House said the story was “fake.”

Oil executives and industry spokesmen have pushed back on the idea, arguing that it would harm the economy in the long term. 

“Bad idea,” Steven Pruett, the CEO of oil company Elevation Resources, told The Wall Street Journal. “Ultimately, it will backfire on American consumers as it will disrupt the natural flow of oil and petroleum products.”

Another oil industry executive told the Journal that it would harm overseas customers. 

“I think we’ve invested too much in developing customers overseas, and this is the wrong signal,” Canary CEO Dan Eberhart said. 

American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers argued that an embargo would harm the economy.  

“Restricting U.S. energy exports would only compound the problem — exacerbating refining challenges and ultimately hurting consumers,” he said. “The answer is more supply and more flexibility — not new restrictions that risk making a difficult situation worse.”

Despite industry pushback, some Republicans have echoed calls for an oil embargo. 

“The war in Iran needs to end to bring costs down — but Michigan families can’t afford to wait,” Michigan GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers said in a recent campaign video. “So until this war is over, I’m calling for a temporary embargo on American diesel exports.”

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called for a similar export ban while prices remain elevated, as has Iowa Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson. 

The average national price for a gallon of diesel hit $6.53 on Tuesday, the highest on record. That average is up over $3 per gallon from a year ago, before the war with Iran started.