Speaking to reporters in Dublin on Tuesday, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said he sent a "very clear signal" to U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright that curbing diesel exports would hurt all sides. He said he was encouraged by Wright's position that he isn't in favor of taking that step. Jorgensen added that Europe needs "as free a flow of energy as possible in these difficult times." He also said last week he would consider delaying certain methane requirements by one year for importers - a climate measure that Washington has criticized.
Ireland's energy minister, Darragh O'Brien, said his trip to the U.S. last week, including meetings with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, suggested the Trump administration would hold off on enforcing a diesel export ban. He noted such a move would also hit U.S. refiners, but cautioned against complacency. "What I was able to to glean from colleagues in the United States last week, they don't envisage that this will happen," O'Brien said. "But look, we we have to be guarded."
On Sunday, President Donald Trump said he was looking "very seriously" into a diesel export ban while he faces growing pressure to curb U.S. fuel prices. That possibility has rattled Europe, where almost 20% of imports are already affected by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Supplies have been reduced as shipments out of the Middle East have fallen because of the Iran war, and, with Europe no longer purchasing Russian diesel owing to the Ukraine war, Moscow's separate ban has constricted the global market and put indirect pressure on European availability. French President Emmanuel Macron last week urged the European Commission to ease diesel rules so refiners can make more.
In Dublin on Tuesday, the International Energy Agency's executive director, Fatih Birol, said, "The continent is one of the most exposed regions, if not the most exposed one, when it comes to diesel." "Today, we get about 50% of our diesel from United States."
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At a separate meeting of the EU oil coordination group, officials indicated they expected that if Washington proceeded, any diesel ban would probably arrive in a milder form than what the Trump administration had originally floated, according to people familiar with the talks. They added that Nigeria, home to the Dangote refinery, could help cover any shortfall.
Member states were also told the EU is currently short by roughly 30% on diesel and 35% on jet fuel. Senior EU representatives will meet oil refiners soon to assess available spare capacity, the people said, requesting anonymity because the discussions were private.
Europe leans heavily on U.S. barrels right now, and the market is already stretched. Even without new restrictions, shortages tied to the Middle East and global rerouting of cargoes are keeping supplies tight and prices jumpy. If U.S. policy shifts, that pressure could intensify across diesel and jet markets, with spillovers into shipping, trucking, and air travel costs that show up in everyday budgets.
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