WIREDGOV

Europe’s reliance on US energy exports was meant to insulate the continent from Russia. But it may result in new and potentially equally powerful vulnerabilities.

US President Donald Trump’s statement on 22 September 2026 that he may support a ban or a quantitative restriction on US diesel exports marks a potential reversal in the logic of the US leader’s own ‘energy dominance’ strategy.

Since his first term in the White House, Trump has presented abundant US energy exports as a source of economic and geopolitical leverage. And soon after his 2024 re-election but well before returning to office, he repeatedly encouraged European allies to replace Russian energy with US supply. The US administration explicitly identifies crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as instruments of US economic and national security. And the 2025 US-EU trade framework envisages substantial additional European purchases of US energy. Now, however, Trump appears to be publicly backing the option of restricting diesel exports, claiming that he had asked his administration to examine the option, although officials remain divided over whether a full or partial restriction would work. Restrictions on oil product exports – largely due to international shortages because of the blockage of Gulf supply routes – have already been implemented by Russia and China. China restricted refined-fuel exports in March 2026 after the Iran conflict disrupted crude supplies. Russia restricted diesel exports in July after Ukrainian strikes tightened its domestic fuel market.

Click here for the full press release