Trump's diesel price relief efforts grow costlier as election nears
USO•Trump’s measures to ease diesel costs include $8 billion in new farm aid, which would push government payments to farmers to a record $55.4 billion. Diesel prices rose nearly 10 cents in the latest week to an average of $6.28 a gallon.
1. Diesel prices remain high
With midterm elections approaching, President Donald Trump has backed farm aid, relaxed rules for truckers and eased sanctions on Russian fuel in efforts to lower diesel costs. US diesel prices rose nearly 10 cents a gallon in the latest week to an average of $6.28, reversing two weeks of declines and remaining near record highs.
2. Farm payments reach record
The $8 billion farm relief program would raise government payments to farmers to a record $55.4 billion this year, above the previous high of $45 billion in 2020. The aid will arrive after the November 3 election and likely will not reach farmers until the end of the year, USDA official Richard Fordyce said.
3. Relief measures face doubts
The IRS temporarily waived certain reporting requirements and penalties for truckers using red-dyed diesel on highways but did not eliminate the federal diesel tax. A truck-stop industry lobbyist said the guidance remains murky and doubted the measure would meaningfully lower prices. Analysts said the Iran conflict has been a much bigger driver of the diesel price spike than Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.
