Milwaukee (United States) (AFP) – The United States asked this Thursday for the support of its European partners to reduce global diesel prices through the immediate release of strategic reserves.
First modification: 02/10/2026 - 11:10
On Friday EU member states are scheduled to meet with the European Commission to coordinate a response to rising fuel prices.
The war in the Middle East and the conflict in Ukraine have disrupted the supply of this fuel.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Europeans to "immediately" put diesel on the market.
"Our European partners should accelerate the fulfillment of their current commitments and immediately make additional volumes available to alleviate the current disruptions," Bessent wrote in X.
He added that "American farmers, truckers and businesses should not have to bear the brunt of a global diesel shortage alone."
The average price of diesel in the United States has risen more than 70%, to $6.39 per gallon since the start of the war with Iran, according to data from the AAA automobile club.
-"Unexpected" -
According to press reports, President Donald Trump's administration wants France and Germany in particular to dip into their diesel reserves to stop the escalation of tariffs.
At the G20 trade talks in Milwaukee, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said there is a desire from "both sides to collaborate" on a solution.
The cost of energy is emerging as a threat to Trump's Republican Party in the November congressional elections.
The president said Wednesday that he is still considering a ban on U.S. diesel exports.
Although he acknowledged that such a measure could ultimately increase gasoline prices.
"I'm thinking about it," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said on Thursday that any move to restrict diesel exports would be "unexpected for Europeans", after speaking with his US counterpart on the sidelines of the G20 meeting.
Unimaginable
Along with Trump, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday that "soon" there would be "announcements from our European friends about new diesel supplies coming to the market that will significantly lower prices."
France's minister delegate for international trade, Nicolas Forissier, told AFP in Milwaukee that he could not "imagine that there will be a ban" on US exports.
He stressed the importance of diesel for the United States and European countries, for which he said that both sides "will try to find solutions."
"In France, we will try to find balanced solutions around the world," Forissier added. "If not with the Americans, it will be with other countries."
The French presidency noted that it did not receive any requests to release strategic reserves when Emmanuel Macron and Trump met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week.
Macron will soon convene a videoconference meeting of the G7 leaders "to advance the different mechanisms that can be used to address the increase in fuel prices (...) including coordination on the release of reserves," the presidency added.
According to its press office, the G7 meeting is scheduled for mid-October.
Rising fuel prices have skyrocketed the cost of living, fueling fears among Trump's Republican Party of losing control of Congress in legislative elections.
© 2026 AFP
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