By Kate Abnett, Jarrett Renshaw and John Irish
WASHINGTON/BRUSSELS/PARIS, Oct 1 (Reuters) – The Trump administration has told Germany and France to draw down emergency diesel inventories to help to ease global fuel prices or face a potential US diesel export ban, said three people close to the discussions.
The warning marks an escalation of pressure on Europe as US President Donald Trump considers a potential diesel export ban to bring down US fuel prices ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The US administration has been particularly frustrated with France and Germany, which US officials believe have not fully followed through on earlier commitments to release emergency oil and petroleum stocks, Reuters has reported previously.
“It is in Europe’s best interest to work with the United States as we pursue multiple pathways to boost the supply of refined products and lower costs for consumers,” one of the sources, a US official, told Reuters.
A second source, based in a European capital, said that the US has asked the EU to release 120 million barrels of diesel in the next six months.
Europe has become increasingly dependent on US fuel after banning Russian imports over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and after the US-Israeli war against Iran disrupted supplies from the Middle East.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Washington, Kate Abnett in Brussels and John Irish in ParisWriting by Dmitry ZhdannikovEditing by David Goodman)
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