By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-01 15:15:46 | Updated at 2026-10-01 16:20:47
1 hour ago
Donald Trump has threatened to press ahead with a ban on diesel exports unless Europe opens up its own stockpiles, according to reports.
Britain has held crisis talks with the European Commission, Germany, France, Italy, and Ireland to discuss what measures to take.
An export ban would send UK diesel prices, already at record levels, even higher, experts believe.
It was prices in the US that prompted the President to say he would consider blocking exports, a move aimed at easing forecourt costs for Americans.
But the American Petroleum Institute has warned the move could backfire, with “catastrophic” effects on the global market.
Diesel is seen as the lifeblood of industry and further disruption to a market already rocked by the Iran war and Ukraine conflict would squeeze supplies.
Chancellor John Healey is said to be taking the threat of a ban “very seriously”.
In a new escalation, the Trump administration singled out France and Germany, according to Reuters, warning they faced being cut off from US supplies unless they tapped into their emergency diesel stockpiles.
US officials are said to believe the two countries have not fully followed through on earlier commitments to release emergency stocks.
It is not known if any ban would be limited to these two countries.
A second source has claimed the US has asked the EU to release 120 million barrels of diesel over the next six months.
"It is in Europe's best interest to work with the United States as we pursue multiple pathways to boost the supply of refined products and lower costs for consumers," a US official said.
Today, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he expected announcements from Europe soon.
He said: "We've lost some diesel exports from the Middle East, although we're restoring those, and we've lost diesel exports from China. So that's a lot of interruptions."
French President Emmanuel Macron is due to convene a video conference of leaders of G7 countries to address rising fuel prices and the availability of refined products.
Germany said it had not been asked by the International Energy Agency to release parts of its strategic oil reserve.
Its economic ministry said it was “crucial” that a solution was “coordinated and mutually beneficial” with the goal of stabilising markets.
However, measures should be based on international procedures “established for that purpose”, it said.
“We are in very close contact to coordinate with our member states how we go forward and we have on a separate track also high-level contacts with the US administration on this,” said Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, for the European Commission.
Many in the industry believe a ban would be problematic for the US as well as Europe.
Diesel is processed from crude oil and its production yields other fuels, including petrol and jet, the American Petroleum Institute (API) pointed out.
If the US stopped exporting diesel, it would need to stockpile the excess.
Once storage tanks were full, refineries would have to slow down, cutting production of these other vital fuels.
The API added: “An export ban would remove the single largest source of global diesel from the market and the consequence could be catastrophic.”
Britain holds around 40 days of emergency diesel supplies.
Both France and Germany have stockpiled more than twice that amount.
Leading voices in the fuel sector say the crisis highlights the need to protect domestic refining.
The UK only has four refineries left and the largest of those, Fawley, is currently closed for maintenance.
Although the country can refine enough petrol for domestic use, it relies on diesel imports to make up for a shortfall.
Elizabeth de Jong, Chief Executive of Fuels Industry UK, has said that, as a direct consequence of refinery closures, Britain has gone from being classed as a “low risk / high resilient” nation to “high risk / low resilience” in relation to diesel and jet fuel.
The Government has said that the UK has “diverse and resilient” supplies of fuel.
