Global diesel crunch in focus amid Trump’s export ban threat, strategic reserve release

Diesel is the world’s critical fuel for freight, agriculture, construction and mining. With the US a major refiner – and an increasingly important international diesel supplier amid geopolitical unrest – Donald Trump’s threat to restrict exports would have tightened inventories even further in Europe and Latin America.

As our chart shows, most of the top 10 American diesel customers are in the Western Hemisphere. But Europeans have become increasingly dependent on US diesel since 2022, when the Russia-Ukraine war disrupted a traditional source of supply. The Netherlands surged to the no. 2 market after the outbreak of the US-Iran war; Dutch terminals play a key role in receiving overseas petroleum products distributed across European networks.

The US president backed down from his threat after G7 nations agreed to release crude oil and diesel from their strategic reserves. The deal helped push US prices down from a record, but will lower inventories further ahead of peak winter demand.