Trump Flirts with Diesel Export Ban, Exposing Corporate Greed Amid Fuel Price Surge
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President Trump, abandoning his pro-corporate export agenda, is now considering restricting U.S. diesel exports as fuel prices soar. This move, a rare challenge to Big Oil, has drawn fierce backlash from industry groups and economists who are more concerned with profits than the needs of working Americans.
President Donald Trump, who has long championed the interests of fossil fuel corporations and pushed for expanded U.S. energy exports, is now contemplating a ban on diesel exports as gasoline and diesel prices skyrocket—hitting working families the hardest. Predictably, industry leaders and establishment economists are up in arms, warning that any restriction could cut into refinery profits and drive up fuel costs, while ignoring the suffering of everyday people.
"The hypocrisy here is stunning," said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US, highlighting how supposed free-market advocates are now embracing protectionist measures when it suits their bottom line. An industry insider revealed that Energy Secretary Chris Wright has begun quietly consulting refiners about a voluntary export cap, while the White House stalls on a formal announcement, with Trump still weighing his options to address the pain at the pump.
Mike Sommers, representing the powerful American Petroleum Institute, predictably called any export restriction "bad policy," echoing former energy secretary Dan Brouillette’s corporate-friendly stance that such proposals defy economic logic. Industry analysts, ever loyal to the status quo, warned that a ban could reduce refinery throughput and push up prices for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel—conveniently ignoring the windfall profits these companies have reaped during the crisis.
Natasha Kaneva of JPMorgan, speaking for Wall Street interests, argued that any short-term relief from a 30-day export ban would be fleeting, as refiners would simply cut back on crude processing, ultimately reversing any benefit to consumers. She described the U.S. refining system as a "strategic asset," code for protecting corporate power at the expense of the public.
Even Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, breaking ranks with his party’s usual deference to Big Oil, has called for a diesel export ban, citing the devastating impact of high fuel costs on farmers. Yet establishment experts like Tom Kloza of Gulf Oil and Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute warn that such a move could trigger even higher gasoline prices, framing it as a more severe repeat of the Biden administration’s earlier, modest LNG export pause. Once again, the interests of ordinary Americans are pitted against the relentless greed of the fossil fuel industry.