TotalEnergies considers a possible ban on American diesel exports a “bad idea”

A potential ban on American diesel exports, which Donald Trump said he was in favor of last week, would be a “bad idea,” the CEO of French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanné told investors on Monday. “The ban, honestly, it's a bad idea,” he said, adding that it “could force American refineries to reduce their processing capacity” and therefore affect the price of gasoline in the United States.

Donald Trump declared last Tuesday that he was in favor of a ban on American diesel exports, to limit the surge in prices in the United States. A measure defended by several political leaders from the American president's camp in order to support road hauliers and farmers, in the run-up to the mid-term legislative elections in early November. “Of course, there are the “midterms” (mid-term elections, Editor’s note), we know the story behind them,” but “the American authorities should consider this from a global perspective and not just in the immediate,” added Patrick Pouyanné.

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If the ban were to occur, the CEO of TotalEnergies indicated that he “sees no other solution than to call on strategic reserves”, these emergency stocks of crude oil held by States. On Thursday, the European Union had already deemed the idea “very bad” and had initiated “high-level contacts” with the American administration.