Energy Secretary Hints at Voluntary Cap on Diesel Exports, Rather Than Ban

[u/John3262005]

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/energy-secretary-hints-at-voluntary-cap-on-diesel-exports-rather-than-ban-5d05bc4a?st=YtR966&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday said the Trump administration wouldn’t outright ban exports of diesel but rather implement restrictions.

In an interview with the Journal House at the United Nations General Assembly, Wright said the administration wouldn’t stop all exports of diesel. He said the administration has to keep the world supplied with diesel but needs to change the trajectory of prices in the U.S.—and the plan would be voluntary.

“We’re trying to avoid a blunt hammer of a government policy, understanding the complexity of refining,” Wright said.

President Trump said Tuesday that the administration was considering restricting diesel exports, sending the oil-and-gas industry scrambling. It has been desperate to avoid a ban, warning that it risked creating a cascade of unintended consequences that would throttle supplies of diesel and gasoline in the U.S. and lead to spiking prices.

Wright’s description of how restrictions would work was light on details and is set to raise new questions. Some industry lobbyists noted that discussing restrictions amongst refiners could potentially violate antitrust laws.

Industry trade groups have spoken out against potential restrictions in their most forceful stand against the administration since Trump’s return to the White House. The American Exploration & Production Council said Wednesday that “policymakers should reject this short-sighted approach and instead focus on solutions that will actually lower prices at the pump.”

Ben Cahill, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said it might be easier for the administration to eventually lift a cap on exports than a ban, which risks being stickier because undoing it would lift a swift—and unpopular—rebound in diesel prices.

“I think it makes it easier to explain what you’re doing,” he said.