{"text":[[{"start":10.64,"text":"Republican lawmakers are ratcheting up pressure on Donald Trump to ban diesel exports as surging prices squeeze American farmers and truckers just weeks ahead of pivotal midterm elections."}],[{"start":21.96,"text":"There was a rising clamour for an intervention on Monday from politicians representing agricultural districts as the price of diesel, the lifeblood of American industry and its farming heartlands, jumped to a fresh record of $6.51 a gallon."}],[{"start":35.48,"text":"“If our [government] can embargo chips to China it can embargo diesel to help American farmers [and] truckers,” Iowa senator Chuck Grassley posted on X."}],[{"start":45.28,"text":"Grassley called directly on the president to suspend exports of the fuel. “High diesel prices ARE KILLING FARMERS INCOME,” he said."}],[{"start":52.8,"text":"Ashley Hinson, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, on Monday urged the use of “every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices”, including “pausing diesel exports . . . and creating a diesel relief programme to help our farmers and truckers being crushed by the high costs”."}],[{"start":68.6,"text":"“We have to bring down the price of diesel,” said Zach Nunn, another Iowa Congress member. “Sell American energy to Americans first.”"}],[{"start":76.6,"text":"Congress member Mariannette Miller-Meeks, also an Iowa Republican, called on the White House to “stop the bleeding” by imposing an export ban, scrapping fuel duties and providing financial support to affected businesses."}],[{"start":88,"text":"“Stop the record-breaking exports until every farmer, trucker and family here can fill up at a price they can afford,” she said on Monday."}],[{"start":96.24,"text":"The blowback from rural lawmakers comes as diesel smashes through record levels, with Trump’s Iran war and Ukraine-Russia conflict driving a global shortage. Prices in the US have shot up more than 70 per cent since the Iran conflict broke out in February, topping previous highs hit in 2022."}],[{"start":114.24,"text":"An export ban could keep more critical fuel supplies within the US but send shockwaves across Europe — a major importer of American petroleum. Protests have erupted in France and Portugal in recent weeks as fuel prices have scaled new highs."}],[{"start":129.2,"text":"Farmers in Europe and the US are being hit particularly hard as the approaching harvest pushes up demand for the fuel."}],[{"start":136.66,"text":"But the impact has been felt across the US economy as the cost of transporting goods rises sharply. US manufacturers have also been caught in the maelstrom, with many forced to raise prices. The inflation has become a political problem for Republicans, with voters souring on Trump’s handling of the economy and cost of living."}],[{"start":156.88,"text":"In a phone call on Sunday, Trump pressed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt Kyiv’s strikes on Russian refineries, which he has blamed for the high diesel cost — although the Iran war triggered the main rise in US fuel prices."}],[{"start":171.6,"text":"A White House official said: “The administration is not considering an export ban or export restrictions at this time.”"}],[{"start":178.52,"text":"The official pointed to remarks by Interior secretary Doug Burgum last week when he said the administration “would consider an export ban if we thought that actually might lower prices, but that’s not the case”."}],[{"start":191.05,"text":"The US has not imposed controls on the export of oil products since the 1970s oil crises, although most crude exports were banned until 2015. In 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, then-president Joe Biden asked the energy department to explore potential restrictions on exports of refined products, but no action was taken."}],[{"start":213.945,"text":"The US oil industry strongly opposes any export ban on diesel or other petroleum products, arguing it would be counter-productive and exacerbate the shortage."}],[{"start":224.168,"text":"“Restricting US diesel exports would make the problem worse, not better — for consumers, farmers and the broader US economy,” said Mike Sommers, chief executive of the American Petroleum Institute."}],[{"start":235.942,"text":"Most US diesel production is concentrated on the Gulf Coast, where refineries produce more fuel than the region can consume. But Sommers warned that infrastructure constraints meant other parts of the country relied on imports and would be hit by higher prices if the US curbed exports."}],[{"start":251.724,"text":"“The US supplies roughly 1.5mn barrels a day of the approximately 8mn barrels of diesel traded globally by sea,” said Sommers in a social media post."}],[{"start":261.04,"text":"“Remove nearly 20 per cent of that supply and global prices could rise — directly hitting parts of the US that rely on imported diesel and driving broader economic consequences through higher transportation, farming and supply-chain costs.”"}],[{"start":274.08,"text":"Tennessee Congress member Tim Burchett accused the oil industry of profiteering by “choosing to sell their diesel for higher prices in Europe”."}],[{"start":282.32,"text":"“Shipping American diesel overseas reduces domestic supply [and] drives up prices at home,” he said as he introduced legislation that would ban exports until January 2027."}],[{"start":294.28,"text":"Burchett also proposed longer-term legislation to ban exports any time the national average price exceeds $5 a gallon and to stay in effect until it falls below $4.50."}],[{"start":306.28,"text":"Senate majority leader John Thune last week indicated he was “open to exploring” a diesel export ban. “We’ll be looking at any proposal that is a viable solution, but I do think if we have the supply in this country and we’re exporting it right now that might be one way of getting at it,” he said."}],[{"start":322.6,"text":"Iowa’s other Republican senator Joni Ernst has not explicitly backed a diesel export ban. But her spokesperson told the FT that Ernst “encourages any and all options being brought to the table for discussion to lower fuel prices”."}],[{"start":336.64,"text":"The spokesperson added Ernst was “committed to working alongside the Trump administration to lower energy prices”."}],[{"start":343.24,"text":"The White House has opposed an export ban on diesel and instead sought to boost supply by tweaking regulations to shipping rules and environmental standards. But the efforts have had limited impact."}],[{"start":354,"text":"Last week energy secretary Chris Wright floated the possibility of using the Defence Production Act to expand refining capacity, although no new funding, project or timelines have been announced."}],[{"start":364.96,"text":"The US has not built a major new refinery since the late 1970s, although some smaller units have come online."}],[{"start":372.08,"text":"Rapidan Energy, a consultancy, forecast there was a 35 per cent chance the White House would implement an export ban."}],[{"start":377.32,"text":"“The administration has consistently rejected an export ban but there’s a concern the president could change his mind at any time,” said Bob McNally, founder of Rapidan and a former adviser to George W Bush."}],[{"start":390.12,"text":"“When the walls close in, and I’ve seen it in the White House myself, the principles go out the window and people get desperate,” he said."}],[{"start":403,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1790045751_8912.mp3"}