The Group of Seven (G-7) major economies agreed to release 100 million barrels of crude oil and fuel from their emergency stocks together with allied nations and not to restrict oil exports, the group said, in an effort to bring down the soaring price of diesel and other fuels.
On his Truth Social platform, President Trump said that European nations agreed “to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil. The process will begin immediately.”
A statement from French President Emmanuel Macron said the reserve release would happen over four months and is aimed at bringing down oil product prices, particularly diesel.
The announcement would seem to end the threat of a U.S. ban on diesel exports, at least for now. The G-7 countries agreed to “take no measures to restrict the exchange of energy and petroleum products between partner countries,” Macron said.
The first batch of the release will give priority to diesel. It will begin immediately and last for 20 days, the group said.
The Iran and Ukraine wars have squeezed exports from two of the world’s biggest diesel-producing regions, sending prices to record highs around the globe. The Trump administration had earlier considered restrictions or an outright ban on U.S. exports in an effort to curb prices ahead of next month’s midterm elections.
Trump expressed support for a ban last week. Later, though, after a lobbying blitz in Washington by oil companies and their trade groups, he said such a move could cause gasoline prices to rise.
A ban could have been catastrophic for supplies overseas. The rest of the world has relied heavily on U.S. diesel, with much of Middle Eastern and Russian exports blocked from the market.
Trump officials have pressed European governments to release more of their emergency fuel stocks onto the market.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X Thursday that Europe should deliver on its existing commitments “and make additional supplies immediately available.” He said American farmers and businesses shouldn’t be “left carrying the burden of a global diesel shortage.”
Member nations of the International Energy Agency (IEA), a club of Western states and their allies, agreed to release 400 million barrels onto the market in March, the biggest coordinated reserve release in the IEA’s history.
European nations have yet to put much of their reserves onto the market. Germany, which has Europe’s largest emergency stocks, had released only around 5 million barrels by the end of August, out of an expected 19.5 million that it pledged as part of the IEA announcement.
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