By Gram Slattery, Ryan Patrick Jones and Timothy Gardner
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he backed the idea of a ban on diesel exports, which lawmakers from farm states are calling for as a way to curb the soaring cost of energy.
Diesel prices have shot to record highs in the US and Europe as wars in Iran and Ukraine sharply cut exports from some of the biggest producers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
"I've said let's not send
out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel ... I've called for it. I've called for it within my people," Trump told reporters ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
High fuel prices are a vulnerability for Trump in the November 3 midterm elections in which his fellow Republicans are trying to maintain majorities in both chambers of Congress.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at the same meeting, said the administration was examining whether such a ban was feasible and whether a full or partial ban would work.
The comments come after pressure from Republican US Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa who said on X last week that "High diesel prices are KILLING FARMERS INCOME."
Trump's backing of a diesel export ban puts him at odds with his own top energy officials, who warn it could raise fuel prices on the coasts and tighten supplies for European allies.
ENERGY OFFICIALS WARN OF RISKS
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a Daily Caller event last week that such a ban would lead to a glut of the product in the US Gulf Coast and prompt US refiners to cut production rates, which would quickly reduce gasoline production. "If you start putting barriers on flows, pretty quickly you will reduce the production, and you'll have less supply. We need more supply, not less supply," Wright said.
Doug Burgum, the US Interior Secretary, said a ban would be unlikely to lower petroleum prices and could lead to retaliatory measures by energy exporting countries, which states like California rely on for some of their energy.
While a diesel export ban could, in theory, temporarily lower prices on the US Gulf Coast, it would tighten supplies further in Europe, which is structurally short on diesel and relies heavily on US exports.
"That would seem pretty damaging to some key U.S. allies," said Jim Mitchell, director of oil trading analytics at consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Trump said he and Zelenskiy would discuss Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries in Russia.
"It is a serious hit on the Russians. It's also a serious hit on the price of diesel," said Trump, who also told reporters the two leaders would discuss working out a solution to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
"I think it's going to happen," Trump said.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery at the UN, Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto and Timothy Gardner in Washington; additional reporting by Nichole Jao in New York, Editing by David Ljunggren and Sanjeev Miglani)
