BRUSSELS — EU officials warned Thursday that a U.S. plan to ban diesel exports for 90 days could have a significant impact on European markets and said the bloc was in talks with the Trump administration to wave it off the ban. "The European Union views with concern the report that the U.S. plans to ban diesel exports, including to the European Union," Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, told reporters in response to a question for POLITICO. "Any disruption would risk negatively impacting both sides." In this light, "high level contacts between the European Union and the U.S. administration are ongoing," and the EU expects "close partners to consult each other before taking measures that affect shared markets," he added.
Gill declined to share details on the content of the diplomatic talks but said "there are strong voices — also there — that believe any proposed ban of this nature would be a very bad idea indeed." The EU's imports of U.S. diesel have increased in recent months, and the bloc currently imports some 57 percent of its diesel from America. Prices have shot up amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. The planned ban, first reported by POLITICO, would last 90 days amid growing concerns from U.S. farmers over rising fuel prices.
However, the move has drawn vociferous opposition from the U.S. oil sector, which has warned the ban would significantly tighten global supply. Trump's energy secretary, Chris Wright, also opposes the ban. Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a Commission spokesperson, added that Brussels was "monitoring the markets and security of supply very, very closely, together with our member states." She said the EU was a "big U.S. diesel importer" and remains a "solid and attractive market to the United States."
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