Trump’s Proposed Diesel Export Ban Could Backfire Enormously

President Donald Trump was asked about a potential ban on diesel exports Tuesday, something that a number of prominent Republicans have called for in recent days. Trump insisted he’s called for a diesel export ban before (which isn’t true) and that he supports one now, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent chimed in to say they were studying the issue.

“Well, I’ve called for that too. I’ve said let’s not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel. That could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline, but when you do that, you know, it’s a sort of a flow, it’s a balance,” said Trump

“But no, I’ve called for it, I’ve called for it within my people, I’ve been talking about it,” Trump continued, perhaps realizing that this is the first time he’s said it publicly.

Trump made his remarks while taking questions during a meeting with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the UN meeting in New York, where he was flanked by Bessent and other officials. Bessent said they were looking at a potential export ban while figuring out “whether it’s feasible in the overall refining capacity and whether a full or partial ban would work.” Trump said they’d decide on the export ban “fast, one way or the other.”

Trump endorses a ban on diesel exports: “I’ve called for that too. I’ve said, let’s not send out the diesel.” (Trump has in fact called for other nations to buy energy from the US!)

Diesel prices keep breaking new record highs in the U.S., currently sitting at $6.52, according to AAA. The price a year ago, before Trump started a fundamentally unwinnable war against Iran, was $3.68. Gas prices have also soared and Trump is clearly even more concerned with that, as he noted that a diesel export ban “could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline.” The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is $4.47. The price before Trump started his war on Feb. 28 was just $2.98.

Several Republicans have floated the idea of banning diesel exports as a way to lower the price for Americans, including Iowa’s 93-year-old senator Chuck Grassley, famous for his weird shorthand on X. Many of Grassley’s constituents in Iowa are farmers who would benefit from lower diesel prices.

“W diesel $6.57 in lowa why doesn’t Pres Trump put an embargo on diesel exports like presidents in the 70s put embargoes on ag products bc food prices were inflated. High diesel prices ARE KILLING FARMERS INCOME,” wrote Grassley while including the hashtags #cornwatch and #soybeanwatch.

Other Republicans who’ve supported a ban include Rep. Ashley Hinson, who’s running for the U.S. Senate in Iowa, Rep. Mike Rogers, who’s running for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, and Sen. Dan Sullivan, who’s running to keep his seat in Alaska. All three have close races against Democrats who are able to point at rising prices as a main reason not to elect Republicans this November.

Angry Trump supporters have taken to TikTok to express their frustration with the soaring cost of fuel.