07:50:03 PM UTC
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By Brian Schwartz and Benoît Morenne President Trump said Friday that his administration has reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin for Russia to supply hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel fuel in the coming months, casting it as part of an effort to lower prices for American farmers and households. The announcement comes as Trump and the Republican Party are struggling to address voter worries over surging diesel and gasoline prices just weeks before the midterm elections. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that Russia would immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel into the U.S. and global markets, another 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million "immediately thereafter." He added that Russia would also later deliver an additional 3 million tons of diesel "within a short period of time," based on the condition of its refineries. The Kremlin didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House didn't respond to a request for comment about the deal. Russia measures diesel quantities in tons; the volumes that Trump said it would provide over time amount to roughly 36 million barrels overall. Some refineries are offline in the Middle East and Russia and the world is short about 1.6 million barrels per day, the International Energy Agency said last month. The new supplies from Russia, if they were all released simultaneously, would plug the gap for about three weeks. "Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority," Trump said on Truth Social. Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have sent diesel costs sharply higher, with U.S. prices hitting an average of $6.28 a gallon as of Friday, up from $3.68 a year ago, according to AAA. While surging gasoline prices in the wake of the U.S. war with Iran have hit voters nationwide, rising diesel prices have hurt farm states in particular, helping stoke Republicans' worries that they will lose both the House and Senate this fall. Moscow suspended diesel exports earlier this year following Ukraine's strikes against Russian refineries. The Russian domestic supply crunch was caused in part by dwindling supply while demand picked up around the country's massive wheat harvesting season. The White House has been seeking to jump-start peace talks around Russia's war with Ukraine, which have consistently faltered. Washington's approach to those talks have centered heavily on business and potential energy deals between U.S. and Russian businesses. In a statement published on social media after Trump's post, the Treasury Department said the Office of Foreign Assets Control, at Trump's direction, issued a temporary license to allow Russian diesel on the global market. Write to Brian Schwartz at brian.schwartz@wsj.com and Benoît Morenne at benoit.morenne@wsj.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires October 09, 2026 15:49 ET (19:49 GMT) Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. The statements in this documen