Key facts
- French President Emmanuel Macron told U.S. President Donald Trump that a potential 90-day diesel export ban would be a bad decision.
- Macron stated the ban would harm the U.S. economy as well as the rest of the world.
- The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of diesel, and removing supply could have far-reaching effects.
- The European Union has increased diesel imports from the U.S. due to supply disruptions from the Middle East.
- Diesel shipments from the U.S. now make up more than half of all diesel imports to the EU.
- Diesel prices in France and Europe have surged to record highs this week.
French President Emmanuel Macron has told U.S. President Donald Trump that a potential 90-day diesel export ban being considered by the White House would be a bad idea. Macron stated during a prime-time interview that "all the experts around him and all the American refiners can only tell him the same thing," adding that "This decision would be a bad one — not just for the rest of the world, but for the U.S. economy as well."
The United States is currently the world’s largest exporter of diesel, according to ClearView Energy, and removing that supply from global markets would have far-reaching effects, especially as the conflict in the Middle East has already disrupted the global energy trade. Macron noted, “There is a war in the Middle East, and we are paying the price.”
The European Union has recently increased its purchases of diesel from the U.S. to compensate for lost supply that cannot transit the Strait of Hormuz. Shipments from across the Atlantic now constitute more than half of all diesel imports to the bloc. Macron previously announced plans to chair a G7 meeting to discuss releasing strategic oil stocks and has held talks with hydrocarbon exporters to secure supplies from alternative sources.
During the interview, Macron also mentioned that France would deploy the military to help secure the Saudi port city of Yanbu, a major oil shipping hub, following an attack by Houthi rebels. He has also advocated for easing EU rules on fuel composition and methane emissions to control soaring energy prices. However, these efforts have not yet curbed rising diesel prices, which have reached record highs in France and across Europe this week, according to Agence France-Presse analyses. France faces fiscal constraints due to its slow economic growth, high budget deficit, and substantial debt, with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu indicating plans for a €450 million budget squeeze to manage the deficit.