Trump Signals Possible Push for European Diesel Reserve Releases as Prices Soar

President Donald Trump has indicated that Washington could turn to Europe for help in calming a diesel market roiled by the war on Iran, telling reporters on Thursday that his administration "may" ask European countries to release their emergency diesel stocks. The comments came during a broader discussion with the press and followed mounting pressure from within his own administration for allied action.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had earlier urged European capitals to move quickly, writing in a social media post that "our European partners should accelerate delivery on their existing commitments and make additional supplies immediately available to address ongoing disruptions." The appeal reflects a growing sense in Washington that the diesel crunch cannot be managed through domestic measures alone.

The diplomatic groundwork appears to be widening beyond the Treasury Department. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said he believes France, Germany and Italy "would love to have a cooperative path forward with the United States on how we get more diesel to market." His remarks suggest the administration views the three largest EU economies as the most likely sources of additional supply.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright echoed that optimism, telling reporters he was "highly confident" Europe could help ease soaring global prices by releasing emergency diesel inventories. The coordinated messaging from multiple senior officials signals that the White House is treating the diesel shortage as a top-tier economic and political priority.

Diesel prices in the United States have climbed sharply in recent weeks, reaching a record $6.53 per gallon a week ago. That spike has fed directly into transport costs, industrial input prices and consumer inflation, creating a politically dangerous dynamic for the administration ahead of upcoming midterm elections.

The pain is not confined to the United States. Data published by the European Commission showed that 12 EU member states recorded new all-time highs for diesel prices, with Italy, Belgium, Romania and Poland among those setting records. The breadth of the increases underscores that this is a global supply shock rather than a purely American problem.

Much of the pressure traces back to the war on Iran, which has disrupted energy flows and unsettled markets that were already tight. Diesel, the workhorse fuel of freight, agriculture and heavy industry, has been especially vulnerable because global refinery capacity for middle distillates has lagged behind demand for years.

One option under active discussion in Washington is restricting US diesel exports. The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have floated the idea as a way to keep more fuel at home and demonstrate responsiveness to voters facing higher costs at the pump and in the grocery aisle.

That prospect has alarmed European officials. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said a US ban on diesel would be "unexpected" but warned it would have detrimental effects on Europe's economy. His comments highlight how tightly interlinked the two markets are and how quickly a unilateral American move could reverberate across the Atlantic.

European capitals spent Thursday coordinating their own diesel measures, according to the Reuters news agency, suggesting that Brussels and national governments are preparing for a range of scenarios. The urgency of that coordination reflects the recognition that a sudden loss of US supply would be difficult to replace.

France and Germany hold more than a third of the EU's strategic diesel reserves, according to Reuters, making them the obvious first stops for any American request. That concentration of stockpiles also gives Paris and Berlin considerable leverage in any negotiation over releases and the terms attached to them.

Strategic reserves exist precisely for moments like this, but releasing them is never cost-free. Member states must weigh short-term price relief against the risk that the crisis deepens and leaves them with thinner buffers. Coordination across 27 countries, each with its own political pressures, adds further friction.

For the Trump administration, the calculus is complicated by the approaching midterms. Restricting exports would please domestic truckers and farmers but could strain relations with allies and global markets. Persuading Europe to tap its reserves would spread the burden but depends on decisions made in Paris, Berlin and Rome.

The broader lesson may be about the fragility of global fuel supply chains. Even with ample crude availability, diesel shortages can emerge quickly when refining capacity, shipping routes and geopolitical risk intersect. That reality has left policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic searching for cooperative answers.

Whether Europe will answer Washington's call remains unclear. The coming days will reveal whether Bessent's "immediately" translates into tanker loads of diesel moving westward, or whether the two sides settle into a longer negotiation over who bears the cost of a war-driven energy shock.