The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on the European Union to release diesel stockpiles, a move seen potentially averting a ban on US exports of the critical fuel.

The matter is actively under discussion by US officials and their European counterparts, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the conversations are private.

US officials have conveyed that a release of some European oil and diesel stockpiles would boost global supplies and bring down prices, the people said. That could stave off any potential US prohibition on diesel exports that would hurt nations that rely heavily on American supplies, including European nations.

Asked Thursday by a reporter if the US would ask European countries to tap diesel stockpiles, US President Donald Trump replied, “We may do that. They have some diesel, but the prices are coming down.”

One US official said it’s in Europe’s best interests to cooperate as the Trump administration pursues multiple pathways to lift fuel supplies and ease the burden on consumers.

“We’ve had conversations today with some of our European partners about this issue, and there is an eagerness on both sides to work together to get more diesel to the market,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters after a G20 Trade Ministerial. “We know that France, Germany and Italy — they’re sitting on reserves. I think — I won’t put words in their mouth, of course — but I think they would love to have a cooperative path forward with the United States on how we get more diesel to market. Getting some of that diesel that’s in the reserve is part of that equation.”

In the US, sky-high diesel prices have emerged as a potent political issue a month before midterm elections that will determine whether Trump’s Republican Party retains control of the House and Senate.

Retail diesel has risen 70 percent since the start of the Iran war to a nationwide average of $6.39 a gallon on Wednesday, feeding calls for an export ban from farm-state Republicans where voters rely on diesel to power tractors and trucks.

Oil executives and energy analysts have warned that curbing exports might provide merely temporary relief before pump prices boomerang for both diesel and gasoline.  

Trump signaled Wednesday that his appetite for an export ban had lessened but said he was still mulling the idea.

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In recent days, Trump administration officials expressed frustration with the pace of Europe’s moves to comply with a coordinated release of oil reserves brokered earlier in the Iran conflict. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that several European countries “have released only a fraction of the crude oil and petroleum products they pledged.”

Because Europe has moved more slowly than the US to draw down emergency reserves, the region still holds significant supplies. Some governments, including in Germany and Spain, previously said they saw little need to release additional barrels.

A release of diesel now would be seen by the Trump administration as helping meet the bloc’s pledges, said a person familiar with the matter. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed Europe to move more quickly.

“Our European partners should accelerate delivery on their existing commitments and make additional supplies immediately available to address ongoing disruptions,” Bessent wrote in a social media post. “American farmers, truckers, and businesses should not be left carrying the burden of a global diesel shortage. America is doing its part. We look to our allies to match their commitments with action.”

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A day earlier, Wright suggested there could be a shift soon, teasing “announcements from our friends in Europe about new diesel supplies that’ll come to the market.”

The EU has asked member states about their positions on emergency diesel stocks after the US approached some of them bilaterally. The bloc’s Energy Union Task Force, which includes the European Commission and representatives of national governments, is due to meet on Friday at 8:30 am Brussels time to discuss the situation.