Would access to Russian diesel help drive down prices in the U.S.?

Updated on: October 12, 2026 / 3:52 PM EDT / CBS News

Russia's commitment to boost global diesel supply, as announced by President Trump on Oct. 9, may do little to ease prices in the U.S. in the short term, according to energy experts.

"If we get diesel from Russia, basically it means that their existing customers are not going to get it and they'll have to go somewhere else, and that will keep the price basically where it is now," Michael Lynch, distinguished fellow at Energy Policy Research Foundation, a nonpartisan research institution focused on energy and economics, told The Associated Press.

Mr. Trump said Friday on Truth Social that Russia will "immediately supply" more than 300,000 tons of diesel, an additional 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons "immediately thereafter."

"Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!" he wrote.

A White House official said the plan will lower diesel costs for American farmers, truckers and other workers.

"Adding hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel fuel to the global markets will…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/