John Thune open to exploring diesel export ban as pump prices hit record highs

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he is open to exploring a ban on diesel exports, a significant rhetorical shift from a Republican Party that has spent years championing energy deregulation and free trade.

The South Dakota senator’s comments landed on September 15, 2026, with diesel averaging $6.285 per gallon nationally. That’s up from $5.967 the prior week.

How we got here

The pressure on diesel prices traces back to two colliding forces: the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict disrupting global supply chains, and a record surge in American fuel exports.

U.S. distillate exports averaged 1.7 million barrels per day in early July 2026, the highest levels recorded for that period. When domestic refiners can fetch higher prices abroad than at home, the fuel moves overseas.

Russia added fuel to the fire, so to speak, by instituting its own diesel export ban in early July 2026 after domestic shortages forced the government’s hand. That decision effectively redirected global demand toward U.S. suppliers, accelerating export volumes and tightening what was already a stressed domestic market.

The policy problem

Thune’s openness to an export ban is notable, but the path to actually implementing one is complicated by a law that Congress itself passed.

In 2015, lawmakers repealed the broad presidential authority to restrict refined-product exports. That repeal was part of a larger push to lift the decades-old U.S. crude oil export ban, and it largely removed refined fuels like diesel from the list of products a president can unilaterally control. Any new restrictions would almost certainly require an act of Congress, meaning Thune’s own chamber would have to pass enabling legislation before any ban could take effect.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has already raised a practical objection: an export ban might not actually lower prices at the pump. His argument is that U.S. refiners, suddenly unable to sell abroad, would not necessarily pass savings along to domestic consumers.

Burgum also flagged the trade retaliation risk. The U.S. exports diesel to allies and trading partners across Europe and Latin America. Countries on the receiving end of an abrupt export ban tend to respond in kind, and the U.S. imports plenty of goods that could become targets.

What to watch

Diesel prices at $6.285 per gallon are not just a household budget problem. Trucking, agriculture, construction, and manufacturing all run on distillate fuel.

The midterm calendar adds a layer of urgency to all of this. With November approaching, politicians have a short window to be seen doing something about pump prices.

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