EXCLUSIVE-Europe weighs new diesel stocks release after US pressure, sources say

European Union countries discussed a French ‌proposal on Friday to release diesel stocks in response to US pressure to help cool surging fuel prices, two sources familiar with details of the discussion told Reuters. The proposal, discussed on a call involving EU governments, calls for European countries to release 50 million barrels of diesel and International Energy Agency members to release 50 million ‌barrels of crude oil, the sources said.

The discussions underscore growing pressure on Europe as U.S. President Donald Trump considers a potential ban on US diesel exports ‌to help lower domestic fuel prices ahead of November 3 midterm elections. In weighing its response, the EU needs to balance the need to ease soaring fuel costs against preserving emergency reserves to safeguard against uncertain supply from Gulf producers due to disruptions caused by the Iran war.

France's finance and energy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters reported on Thursday that the ⁠Trump administration had ​told Germany and France to draw ⁠down emergency diesel inventories or face a potential US diesel export ban, according to three people close to the discussions.

The US had demanded large European countries including France and Germany release 100 million ⁠barrels of diesel within a 20-day window, one of the sources told Reuters on Friday. Global diesel supply has been hit by the US war with Iran and a Russian ban ​on exports after Ukraine damaged many of its refineries. Chinese refiners have also suspended October fuel exports to bolster domestic stocks, sources said.

The proposed ⁠50-million-barrel release equates to approximately 17% of the EU's total emergency stocks of diesel and gasoil, Eurostat data current as of May 2025 showed. It reflects around 3% of the bloc's annual consumption of the ⁠fuel, ​Eurostat data show.

Europe used to mainly rely on Russian and Middle Eastern diesel imports but has increasingly relied on imports from the United States in recent years. In the call on Friday, EU countries discussed making a condition for any agreement on diesel stock releases a US commitment to not impose a unilateral ⁠diesel export ban, one of the sources said.

G7 country leaders may hold a call on Friday afternoon to discuss their next steps, the source said. France ⁠currently holds the presidency of the G7. The ⁠32-member IEA agreed in March to a coordinated release of 400 million barrels of strategic oil reserves, in response to the Iran war, the largest such release in history.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said this week that members had released ‌about two-thirds of those ‌volumes.