France and Germany say diesel promise to Trump won’t require new stock release
The comments suggest Europe's commitment to release fuel wasn't as generous as it sounded.
France and Germany announced on Wednesday that they will release diesel stocks that were already committed in March as part of the G7 pledge to draw from oil product reserves, leaving it uncertain if any new barrels will be released, according to two diplomats with knowledge of the matter. The statement indicates that Europe's pledge to U.S. President Donald Trump to release millions of diesel barrels was less generous than initially perceived.
The G7 club committed to releasing a "substantial" amount of diesel in the next 20 days to lower global prices, following threats from senior Trump administration officials to impose an export ban on the fuel if European countries did not unlock their reserves. However, countries acknowledged that the release would not include new barrels but rather those already pledged under a broader European commitment to release 100 million barrels, with two-thirds of which were refined products.
This deal was brokered by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in March following the Iran war. The exact quantities each country will release remain unclear, but Germany has so far released 600,000 tons of the 2.65 million ton commitment, and a portion of France's 14.6 million barrel commitment, which it will contribute under the latest push, could be released.
The countries have been criticized for not contributing the full share committed in March, with Germany attributing it to weak demand for barrels. An extraordinary meeting of the IEA will take place today to address the confusion among member countries over commitments and timelines, with some Eastern European countries expressing concerns about exhausting reserves in the event of a supply crisis.
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