However, Republican lawmakers are lambasting the deal, arguing it will fund Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and damage American credibility.
“This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our allies; it should be rescinded,” the bipartisan group of senators wrote in a letter addressed to Trump that also questioned its legality. The deal comes after Trump briefly considered a diesel export ban until officials discarded the idea as one likely to backfire.
The letter counts six Republican senators as signatories: Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky; Sen. John Cornyn of Texas; Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; Sen. Alan Armstrong of Oklahoma; Sen. Susan Collins of Maine; and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Three of them are set to retire at the start of next year, while Collins is still locked in a re-election battle.
The scramble to lower diesel prices in Washington
Diesel powers the heavy freight vehicles and ships that transport things like food, furniture, and farm and construction equipment to their destination. Skyrocketing diesel prices have made the cost of harvesting painful for farmers in particular with just three weeks to go until the midterm election. The national average for a gallon of diesel stands at $6.30, according to AAA, up 68% from late February when the Iran War started.
The bipartisan Senate group said they recognized “the urgent need to lower energy costs for American families and address the disruptions caused by the war with Iran.” However, the Senators argue that “allowing Russian-origin diesel into global markets will offer limited to no relief to Americans.”
Trump said Moscow will immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the U.S. and global markets — with more set to come in waves. The White House is defending the diesel deal as one that will benefit the U.S. economy, noting Trump has pushed for Ukraine and Russia to halt strikes on refineries.
“President Trump is always willing to look anyone in the eye to deliver wins for the American people,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in an emailed statement to Moneywise. “The President’s diesel deal will help lower prices for farmers, truckers, and families across the nation as he simultaneously urges both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to stop strikes against refineries, which are driving up costs and hurting American consumers.”
Lower prices? Not so much
Russia’s supply of 300,000 metric tons immediately amounts to a drop in the bucket in global markets, per analysts. According to the Energy Information Administration, the deal amounts to just about 2% of total U.S. demand.
“Truckers and farmers [are] not going to see any relief anytime soon,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, wrote in a X post on Oct. 13, noting that prices hadn’t budged since energy markets absorbed news of the deal.
Joseph Zeballos-Roig is a policy and politics journalist based in Washington D.C with a focus on economics. He is experienced in connecting the significance of events in the capital to the lives of everyday Americans whether its taxes, tariffs, interest rates or federal programs.
