EU Convenes Emergency Meeting on Diesel Crisis as US Pressures Allies on Reserves

The European Union called an emergency meeting for Friday morning to hammer out a coordinated response to diesel prices that had climbed steeply across the continent. The summons came a day after the United States, under President Donald Trump, demanded that European allies open their strategic reserves immediately to help contain the crisis.

The timing was not accidental. Washington had begun applying real pressure—Trump floated the possibility of banning US diesel exports altogether on Wednesday, a move that sent a chill through European capitals. The administration's focus was particularly sharp on France and Germany, the EU's largest economies, which hold substantial diesel stockpiles. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on social media that European partners needed to "accelerate delivery on their existing commitments and make additional supplies immediately available to address ongoing disruptions." A US official told AFP that it was "in Europe's best interest to work with the US" as the administration pursued what it called multiple pathways to boost refined product supply and lower consumer costs.

The numbers driving the urgency were stark. According to data from the AAA motor club, average US diesel prices had jumped more than 70 percent to $6.39 a gallon since the start of the Iran war. That surge was not merely an economic abstraction—it threatened to become a political liability. High energy costs loomed as a potential drag on Republican prospects in November's midterm elections, when control of Congress would be decided.

European officials, however, were wary of being pressed into a corner. Maros Sefcovic, the EU's trade chief, told reporters on Thursday in Milwaukee, where G20 trade ministers were gathered, that any US ban on diesel exports would be "unexpected for Europeans" and would carry "very dramatic consequences for our economic performance." Yet Sefcovic also signaled that dialogue was ongoing—he and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had agreed to "stay in close touch to avoid any surprises." Greer himself struck a more conciliatory note at the G20 talks, saying there was "eagerness on both sides to work together" on the diesel issue.

France's minister delegate for international trade, Nicolas Forissier, expressed skepticism that a ban would actually materialize. "I can't imagine that there will be a ban," he told AFP. He emphasized that both the US and Europe depended on diesel and that both sides would "try to find solutions." Forissier added that France would pursue "balanced solutions all over the world," suggesting that if Washington proved uncooperative, Europe might look elsewhere for relief.

Trump himself seemed to hedge his position. On Thursday, he told reporters in Texas that he "may" ask European countries to release diesel reserves—a softer formulation than the demand that had come from his Treasury Secretary. On Wednesday, he had said he was "thinking about" the export ban while acknowledging that such a move could ultimately push gasoline prices higher, complicating his political calculus.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron was preparing his own diplomatic move. His office said no formal demand for reserve releases had been made when he and Trump met at the United Nations General Assembly the previous week. But Macron announced plans to convene a video meeting of G7 leaders to "make progress on the various levers that can be used to address the rising fuel prices," with reserve coordination explicitly on the agenda. That gathering was expected in mid-October, according to Macron's press office.

The emergency EU meeting on Friday would be the first test of whether Europe could present a unified front or whether individual member states would be picked off by American pressure. The stakes extended beyond fuel prices—they touched on the fundamental question of whether the transatlantic alliance could manage a crisis without fracturing into competing national interests.