President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he is still “thinking about” banning diesel exports in an attempt to get a handle on high energy prices, but noted that doing so may have a “negative impact on gasoline.”
Trump, asked in the Oval Office if he has decided on a ban, said his aides think it would help diesel “but it might raise the price of other things.”
“And I think we’re in a good place because oil prices are going to start to come down,” Trump added.
Just three days earlier, Trump said he was “very seriously” considering the move, despite warnings from the U.S. oil industry that it would force refineries to cut production and ultimately raise domestic energy prices.
But his latest comments appeared to show him cooling to the idea of an export ban, even as he declined to rule it out entirely.
“We’re in a very good place,” Trump said, highlighting a recent resurgence in crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait is a major throughway for the global oil trade that saw ship traffic stifled after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February. But this week it saw daily exports return to prewar levels.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, standing next to Trump at the Resolute Desk, said, “You’ve seen diesel prices come down the last week. I think you’ll see them move meaningfully down in the coming weeks and days.”
But Wright acknowledged that diesel supplies are “tight” because of export loss related to conflicts in Russia and the Middle East, as well as from China.
“So that’s a lot of interruptions. But American refiners are running at record highs,” Wright said, “and you will hear announcements from our our friends in Europe about new diesel supplies that’ll come to the market. That’ll meaningfully push diesel prices down.”
When a reporter asked if Wright has advised against a diesel export ban, Trump interjected, saying, “No, I think it’s something that we think about and we talk about every day.”
“But it just seems that it would have a negative impact on gasoline,” he said. “That would go up a little bit and diesel would come down a little bit.”
Trump also repeated his claim that Russia’s war against Ukraine was “really the biggest problem for diesel.”
Diesel prices have soared to record highs amid the continuing conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, which have caused major disruptions to global energy flows. Oil prices rose on Wednesday as the prospect of U.S. talks with Iran appeared to stall out once again.