Washington [US], October 4: Group of Seven countries agreed on Friday to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves and pledged to refrain from energy export restrictions after pressure from President Donald Trump.
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The US led a pressure campaign on the European Union to draw down emergency diesel inventories, with the Trump administration warning that failure to act could lead to a US ban on diesel exports. Such a ban could sharply reduce supplies to Europe, which has become increasingly reliant on US diesel, and potentially inflict high economic costs on the bloc.
Trump is seeking to cool surging fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections.
The Iran war sparked the biggest emergency stock release ever of 400 million barrels in March, coordinated by the International Energy Agency.
It was uncertain how much of the petroleum in the new agreement would come from what remains from the March pact. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said this week that members had released about two-thirds of the 400-million-barrel agreement.
The release will begin immediately and last four months, with a substantial amount of diesel to be released within 20 days by G7 members and partners, the statement said.
It did not provide a breakdown of the volumes of crude, diesel and other products to be released or say which countries would participate.
Trump is seeking to bring down fuel prices as he faces a career-low 32% approval rating in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, with voters particularly concerned about the cost of living. The poll, conducted September 17-20, found that 17% of Americans approved of Trump's handling of the cost of living.
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The administration has made lowering energy prices a central focus as it seeks to ease the impact of the Iran war and high fuel costs on consumers and diesel-dependent industries such as trucking and farming.
The White House is preparing an executive order to tackle record-high US diesel prices that could be unveiled as early as next week, two people familiar with the process said.
The order is expected to include measures to expand the use of tax-exempt red-dyed diesel and other tax changes to lower fuel costs, the people said. Details are still being worked out and could change.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation
