Wright breaks with Trump on diesel exports, calling a ban a 'blunt tool that doesn't work'

Energy Secretary Chris Wright stepped directly into the path of his own president on Wednesday, declaring that a ban on U.S. diesel exports 'definitely doesn't work' — just one day after Donald Trump told reporters he had been pushing his advisers to stop sending diesel abroad. The White House then denied a Politico report that a 90-day blanket ban was already being prepared, leaving the administration's position on one of the most politically charged energy questions of the moment in open dispute.

The blunt tool of banning diesel exports definitely doesn't work.— Chris Wright, U.S. Energy Secretary

Wright made the remarks at an event in New York on Wednesday, the same day Politico reported — citing five people familiar with the discussions — that the administration was preparing a temporary, blanket 90-day ban. A White House official subsequently told reporters that the Politico account was 'not correct,' according to Live Mint.

The backdrop is a diesel market under severe strain. As of Wednesday, AAA data cited by Reuters showed the national average diesel price had climbed to $6.52 a gallon, compared with $3.69 a year earlier — a rise of roughly 76 percent tied to supply disruptions stemming from the wars in Iran and Ukraine, among them refinery damage and restricted fuel movement along key shipping corridors.

I've said, 'Let's not send out the diesel.' I've called for it. I've called for it within my people.— Donald Trump, President

Trump made those remarks Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the administration was examining 'whether it's feasible in terms of the overall refining capacity, and whether a full or partial ban would work,' according to Newsweek. On timing, Trump indicated a resolution would arrive 'fast, one way or the other.'

Wright's objection is rooted in how refineries actually operate. The refining process yields diesel and gasoline simultaneously, as co-products. If U.S. refiners lose access to overseas diesel markets, domestic storage fills rapidly — and refiners are then forced to cut overall output, reducing gasoline and jet fuel supplies as a consequence.

If you can't export the diesel that comes out of our refineries, you run out of places to store it, and you have to reduce US refining.— Chris Wright, U.S. Energy Secretary

Goldman Sachs economist Daan Struyven made the same point in a Bloomberg Television interview Wednesday, warning that lower diesel prices from a ban 'would likely reduce the availability of gasoline' because the two fuels are 'usually produced together as a bundle,' according to Live Mint.

Wright has been consistent on this point for months — even as his language has softened at times. In May, he told CNBC the White House had 'absolutely' ruled out any ban, arguing it would run counter to Trump's energy agenda. He said, according to Newsweek, that the country aimed to be 'a growing energy exporter to the world' and could not claim that status while 'sometimes' halting its energy exports. At an event hosted by the Daily Caller last week, he warned that 'if you start putting barriers on flows, pretty quickly you will reduce the production and you'll have less supply.'

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has also pushed back, telling CNBC last week he was 'not at all confident' a ban would lower prices and warning it could hurt Americans if other nations retaliated by cutting off their own exports to the U.S., according to Newsweek. Burgum said his department stood ready to 'consider an export ban if we thought that actually might lower prices, but that's not the case.'

Instead of a ban, Wright said the administration is pursuing a cooperative approach with industry. Quoted by Reuters, Wright described an effort to work alongside the industry in 'a more cooperative effort to increase the supply of diesel in the United States and stop the upward price pressure,' adding that the goal could be achieved 'in a simpler, voluntary, cooperative fashion, without using blunt instruments that would reduce refining throughput.' At Heatmap's event, he acknowledged there may 'be some tweak in where diesel flows out of U.S. refineries,' but was unequivocal that a full ban was off the table: 'We will not cease exports of U.S. diesel.'

The political pressure behind the export-ban idea is real. Several Republican lawmakers, including Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, have called for a pause on exports. High diesel prices fall hardest on two groups: farmers, who need diesel to fuel harvest equipment and move goods, and New Englanders, millions of whom rely on heating oil — virtually interchangeable with diesel — to heat their homes. Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, told Heatmap that heating oil bills could top $2,000 this winter. Pressure to rein in fuel costs ahead of the November midterm elections is also bearing down on the administration.

The global stakes are also significant. According to OilPrice.com, the U.S. accounts for roughly 1.5 million of the 8 million barrels of diesel that change hands in global seaborne trade each day, or about 20 percent of that market. Last month, American exports climbed to a weekly record of nearly 2 million barrels a day, cementing the U.S. as Europe's leading overseas supplier at a time when Russian export curbs and Middle Eastern supply disruptions have squeezed global fuel availability. Trump's remarks alone were enough to drive European diesel prices sharply higher: OilPrice.com reported that the premium of European diesel over Brent crude reached more than $95 a barrel on Wednesday, a level not seen in Bloomberg data stretching back to 2011.

The American Petroleum Institute cautioned that 'removing US diesel from the market could instead result in reduced refinery runs, global economic damage and even higher US prices,' according to OilPrice.com. The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers similarly argued in a recent fact sheet that 'export bans do not create more fuel for Americans,' according to Newsweek.

The administration's internal divisions leave the policy question unresolved. Trump has said a decision will come quickly. Wright, for his part, left little ambiguity about where he stands — and about the trade-off he sees at the heart of the debate. Speaking to Heatmap, he said the country's ambition was to be 'the energy superpower supplying the whole world,' and predicted that 'a blanket ban on diesel' was not something Americans would see.

Why it matters — With diesel at record highs, the administration's internal split over export restrictions will directly shape fuel costs for farmers, truckers, and millions of households heading into winter — and any U.S. policy move could ripple through global fuel markets that are already stretched thin.

Sources differ on Whether the Trump administration is actively considering a diesel export ban: Trump said Tuesday he had called on advisers to stop sending diesel abroad; Bessent said feasibility was being examined. (newsweek.com) vs A White House official denied the administration was preparing a 90-day ban, calling the Politico report 'not correct.' (livemint.com) vs A White House official told Politico the day before Trump's remarks that the administration was 'not considering an export ban or export restrictions at this time.' (newsweek.com)

Reported by reuters.com, heatmap.news, usnews.com, newsweek.com, oilprice.com, politico.com, livemint.com