The Group of Seven nations will tap strategic reserves for 100 million barrels of crude and diesel over the next four months, a coordinated release aimed at calming a diesel market that has tightened since the US-Israeli conflict with Iran erupted. The plan, announced after a video conference chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron, front-loads a substantial diesel allocation within the first 20 days and includes a pledge to avoid export restrictions among the seven economies.
The release details
The barrels will flow through the International Energy Agency framework, starting immediately. Macron’s office said the leaders reaffirmed a commitment to refrain from limiting energy shipments between G7 members and urged all producers to avoid bans that could worsen market strains. The group comprises the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and France.
The diplomatic backdrop
The coordination followed a conversation between Macron and US President Donald Trump, who faces midterm congressional elections in roughly a month. Rising fuel costs tied to the Middle East conflict have become a domestic political liability. Trump has floated a ban on US diesel exports, a move that would hit European importers hard given the region’s heavy reliance on foreign fossil fuel.
The export-ban standoff
European officials pushed back sharply. European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said the bloc would reject any diesel export prohibition, warning it would erode confidence in the United States as a dependable partner. A day earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had pressed European nations, arguing that American farmers, truckers and businesses should not shoulder the burden of a global diesel shortfall. Trump later posted on Truth Social that European countries had agreed to release a “massive amount” of diesel and that the process would begin immediately.
The IEA context
The G7 action sits atop a broader IEA effort. The agency’s 32 members agreed last March to unlock 400 million barrels from reserves, the largest such release in the organization’s history. The current tranche represents a targeted follow-on, focused specifically on the diesel squeeze that has intensified since the war widened.