Nicolai Haugsted
Washington tells France and Germany to open diesel reserves or risk losing US supplies.
Europe is already trying to navigate a global fuel squeeze without burning through the emergency supplies it may need later.
Washington now wants considerably more help.
The Trump administration has told France and Germany to release diesel from emergency reserves or risk restrictions on American diesel exports, according to three people familiar with discussions cited by Reuters.
No export ban has been announced, and the reported warning has not been publicly confirmed as a formal ultimatum by the White House. But pressure from Washington is unmistakably growing as President Donald Trump looks for ways to push down fuel prices before November’s midterm elections.
One European-based source told Reuters that the United States has asked the EU to put 120 million barrels of diesel onto the market over the next six months.
“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,” a U.S. official told Reuters.
France and Germany come under pressure
Paris and Berlin have attracted particular frustration from U.S. officials, who believe both governments have fallen short of previous commitments to release emergency petroleum supplies, according to Reuters.
Europe now faces an uncomfortable calculation.
Opening the reserves could inject additional diesel into a tight global market and potentially ease prices. Holding onto them would preserve an emergency buffer should geopolitical disruptions become even more severe.
EU rules require member states to maintain emergency oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports or 61 days of consumption. European officials said earlier this week that emergency inventories remained high, while diesel and jet-fuel prices continued to reflect severe pressure on global markets.
Officials are already discussing what comes next.
Representatives from the European Commission, Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Ireland held talks Thursday about a possible release, according to Reuters. The EU’s Energy Union Task Force is expected to discuss the situation again Friday.
France’s energy ministry declined to comment on the reported American warning.
Washington wants diesel moving
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has publicly made the administration’s preference considerably clearer.
Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Wright said he was “highly confident” that Europe would release diesel from its reserves.
“Europe can help the situation as well, and I’m highly confident they will,” Wright said.
“This is a time for a coordinated release of diesel stores as we go into harvest season and we go into winter heating oil season. Now’s the time to bring more diesel to the market, and that diesel is available. I think we have some positive news coming.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also argued that Washington has already delivered its share of an earlier agreement among International Energy Agency members.
“America is doing its part,” Bessent wrote on X, according to Reuters. “We look to our allies to match their commitments with action.”
Europe has good reason to be cautious
Fuel markets have been battered by several problems arriving at roughly the same moment.
Conflict involving Iran has disrupted Middle Eastern energy supplies, while Ukrainian attacks have damaged Russian refining capacity. Russia extended restrictions on diesel exports through the end of October, and Chinese refiners have suspended October fuel exports to protect domestic inventories, according to Reuters.
Europe has fewer easy alternatives than it once did.
Russian fuel imports disappeared following sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, increasing Europe’s dependence on other suppliers, including the United States.
The European Commission said on September 29 that EU diesel and jet-fuel supplies remained stable but expensive, with European refineries operating close to maximum capacity. Commercial inventories at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp trading hub were also below their five-year average.
Earlier assessments similarly found no immediate EU supply shortage, although officials warned that instability in the Middle East combined with higher autumn and winter demand could tighten markets further.
Burning through emergency stocks now could therefore leave governments with less protection if another serious disruption arrives later.
Macron prepares G7 talks
French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to bring the issue to other major economies.
An Élysée Palace official told Reuters that Macron plans to convene G7 leaders by video to discuss soaring fuel prices, supplies of refined petroleum products and a possible coordinated release of reserves alongside the International Energy Agency.
Macron and Trump did not discuss the diesel issue when they met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week, according to the French official.
Germany, meanwhile, said the IEA had not yet formally asked it to release stocks.
Washington appears unwilling to wait quietly for that process.
