The United States puts pressure on Europe to release diesel stockpiles... French and German expressions of dissatisfaction

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Baek Na-ri = Reuters reported on the 29th (local time) that the White House, which is urgently concerned about calming diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections, is pressuring the European Union (EU) to release its diesel reserves.

Citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that the White House recognizes that some European countries are not properly abiding by the agreements reached at the International Energy Agency (IEA) level last March.

The United States is said to be particularly dissatisfied with France and Germany.

Last March, about 30 member countries of the IEA agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserve to stabilize oil prices. It is the largest volume in IEA history, with the United States responsible for 172 million barrels and European countries responsible for 20% of the total.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright also publicly urged Europe to implement the agreement.

Secretary Wright issued a statement saying, "The United States and Japan are fulfilling their promises, but some European countries have released only a portion of their crude oil and petroleum product commitments. We urge all member countries to fulfill their promises."

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum also said in an interview with Politico, a U.S. political media outlet, that "several options (to calm diesel prices) are being discussed at the U.S. administration level. I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but it is true that Europe has a lot of diesel stockpiles."

Reuters reported that the EU has not disclosed the size of its strategic oil reserve so far.

The Trump administration is in a situation where the price of light has soared ahead of the midterm elections. Due to a surge in fuel prices during the harvest season, fuel spending by farmers, a major supporter of the Republican Party, has increased significantly, causing concern for the Trump administration with about a month left before the midterm elections.

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price of diesel in the United States as of today is $6.44 per gallon, $2.75 higher than a year ago.

President Trump has recently publicly expressed support for the ban on diesel exports. However, Politico reported that the U.S. administration and the oil industry are desperately trying to block the implementation of the export ban by suggesting options such as requesting Europe to release its stockpile of diesel oil.