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US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States will not impose a ban on diesel exports, praising the decision of European countries to pump quantities from their reserves.
In response to a question from a France Press Agency reporter about whether a ban on US exports was excluded, Trump replied during a meeting with journalists at the White House, "In fact, it was not actually on the table. But what Europe did was a great thing."
He added, "I asked for it. Europe has large quantities of diesel and they are thereby making a significant global contribution (...) and so are we."
He continued, "We will not impose an export ban, but we will do what we need to do."
Trump had stated on September 22 that he supported imposing a ban on diesel exports, a step that would have lowered prices for the American consumer but would have put pressure on supplies in other parts of the world.
On Thursday, Trump said the United States was still considering the idea, while his administration was pressuring Europe to release quantities from its reserves.
The G7 countries agreed on Friday to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from their reserves over four months to alleviate concerns about global energy supplies, which have been exacerbated by the Iran war.
Trump and the Republican Party face the risk of losing control of Congress in the midterm elections next month, amid public discontent over the war and its impact on energy prices.
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