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The Group of Seven (G7) countries have agreed to release up to 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel from emergency reserves over four months to ease tight energy supplies and rising fuel prices. The coordinated release, which will begin immediately, includes a substantial amount of diesel within the first 20 days.

The agreement followed pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to restrict U.S. diesel exports if European countries did not release more of their own emergency stocks. Trump said that the United States would not impose an export ban after the G7 agreement.

The G7 includes the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK, while the European Union also participates in its meetings. France currently holds the G7 presidency.

G7 leaders said the release would be coordinated through the International Energy Agency (IEA) and would begin immediately. The plan will continue for four months, with G7 members and partner countries expected to contribute from their emergency reserves.

“We will implement our commitments with a coordinated release through the IEA of 100 million barrels to begin immediately over four months,” the G7 said in a joint statement.

The statement did not specify how the 100 million barrels would be divided between crude oil, diesel and other petroleum products. It also did not identify which partner countries would participate or how much each country would release.

The G7 said it would release a substantial amount of diesel within the first 20 days. Members will also meet through the IEA in the coming days to discuss whether additional diesel releases are necessary.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the coordinated action was intended to reduce prices of petroleum products, particularly diesel.

The agreement also calls for G7 countries to coordinate refinery maintenance schedules so that several major facilities are not taken offline at the same time. Countries with available refining capacity will also be encouraged to increase diesel production.

US Diesel Export Ban Taken Off Table

The agreement came after the Trump administration placed pressure on European countries to release emergency diesel stocks.

Trump had repeatedly said that the United States was considering a diesel export ban as fuel prices increased. Such a measure could have reduced diesel supplies available to Europe, which has become increasingly dependent on U.S. fuel imports.

On Friday, however, Trump said the United States would not introduce the ban.

“Europe has a lot of diesel, and they’re going to be making a major world contribution, and so are we,” Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for Alabama. “And we’re not going to be doing the export ban.”

Trump also said the export ban had never really been on the table, despite having publicly discussed the possibility in recent weeks.

Earlier Friday, he said on Truth Social that Europe had agreed to release a “massive amount” of diesel from its reserves and that the process would begin immediately.

The G7 statement also included a commitment by members to refrain from imposing energy export restrictions against one another. The measure removes an immediate risk of restrictions on U.S. diesel exports to European markets.

Europe Faces Tight Supplies

European countries have increased imports of U.S. diesel this year as the war involving Iran has disrupted energy supplies from producers in the Gulf region.

The pressure on diesel markets has also been increased by disruptions involving other major suppliers. Russia has restricted diesel exports, while attacks on refineries have affected regional production. The G7 said it would maintain sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.

The UK is particularly dependent on imported diesel. More than half of the country’s diesel is imported, with about 31% of those imports coming from the United States.

Diesel prices in the UK exceeded £2 per liter for the first time this week, adding pressure on households and businesses.

Diesel is especially important to the transport and agricultural sectors because it powers heavy trucks, machinery and other equipment. Higher diesel prices can therefore increase the cost of transporting goods and producing food.

The United States is also a major supplier to international diesel markets. U.S. refineries produce roughly 4 million to 5 million barrels of diesel and other refined products each day. Domestic consumption accounts for about 3.6 million barrels, leaving around 1.2 million to 1.5 million barrels available for export each day.

Emergency Release Follows March Action

The latest agreement follows the largest emergency oil stock release coordinated by the IEA. In March, the Iran war led to an agreement to release 400 million barrels from emergency reserves. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said this week that participating countries had released about two-thirds of that amount.

It remains unclear how much of the new 100-million-barrel commitment represents additional reserves and how much may come from the remaining volume under the March agreement.

The latest release will include both crude oil and refined products. A release of crude oil does not immediately increase diesel supplies because crude must first be processed at refineries.

The amount of additional diesel that reaches consumers will therefore depend on refinery capacity, logistics and the type of crude released.

European governments had discussed a proposal under which European countries would release 50 million barrels of diesel while IEA members would release another 50 million barrels of crude oil.

A 50-million-barrel release of diesel would represent about 17% of the EU’s emergency diesel and gasoil stocks, according to Eurostat data, and roughly 3% of the bloc’s annual consumption.

Oil Prices Respond to Agreement

News of the planned releases initially pushed energy prices lower. U.S. diesel futures fell by 3.25% to $4.49 a gallon after reports of the stock-release discussions. European diesel futures fell by about $83 per metric ton, or 5.75%.

Brent crude oil also briefly fell below $100 a barrel after the G7 announcement before rising again to around $102 by Friday evening. Before the U.S. and Israel invaded Iran, Brent was trading at about $73 a barrel.

The subsequent increase reflected renewed concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East. Oil market analysts said renewed fighting involving Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen had contributed to the rebound.

The effect of the reserve release will depend partly on how quickly the stocks reach the market and how much crude can be converted into diesel.

The planned release could provide additional supplies ahead of winter, when demand for diesel and other refined products normally increases.

Trump Focuses on US Fuel Prices

The Trump administration has made lower energy prices a major domestic priority as high fuel costs affect consumers and industries that depend heavily on diesel.

The pressure has been particularly strong in sectors such as trucking and agriculture, where fuel represents a high operating cost.

The administration is also preparing an executive order aimed at reducing U.S. diesel prices. The order could include measures to expand the use of tax-exempt red-dyed diesel and make other tax changes intended to lower fuel costs. The details remain under discussion and could change before the order is issued.

Trump is seeking to reduce fuel costs ahead of the November midterm elections as households face wider cost-of-living pressures.

Recent independent polls conducted on September 17-20 found that 17% of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living. The same poll reported an overall approval rating of 32% for Trump.

The G7 reserve release gives the United States and Europe a coordinated mechanism for adding supplies to the market without imposing restrictions on energy trade between the participating countries.

The agreement does not guarantee an immediate or uniform fall in diesel prices. Still, it increases the amount of oil and refined fuel expected to enter global markets over the coming months while keeping U.S. diesel exports available to Europe.