US threatens Europe with diesel export ban

Washington wants the EU to release 120 million barrels of emergency stocks or risk American export curbs amid ebbing supplies The US is pressuring France and Germany to tap emergency diesel reserves to help bring down soaring global prices, and has threatened not to export the fuel if they refuse, Reuters has reported. Washington wants the EU to release 120 million barrels over the next six months as US President Donald Trump seeks to reduce domestic fuel costs ahead of November’s midterm elections. Diesel prices have surged to record highs in both the US and the EU. Average US prices topped $6. 50 per gallon in the third week of September, up $2. 60 from a year earlier, according to the US Energy Information Administration, while EU prices climbed to €2. 23 per liter, European Commission data shows.

The US fuel crunch has become particularly severe in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott declared a statewide disaster on Sunday over soaring diesel prices and supply disruptions. Some filling stations have run short of diesel, while tight supplies have forced others to ration fuel or raise prices sharply. The order temporarily eased fuel and trucking restrictions, including allowing wider use of untaxed dyed diesel on public roads. Trump ‘very seriously’ mulling diesel export ban The US-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted Middle Eastern supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, while Russia, one of the world’s largest diesel exporters, has restricted shipments to protect domestic supplies after Ukrainian drone attacks damaged its refineries. China has also suspended October fuel exports to bolster domestic stocks. Washington threatens EU with diesel export ban Washington has stepped up pressure on Paris and Berlin, with the Trump administration particularly “frustrated” with…