Trump signs executive order aimed at lowering diesel prices

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Monday aimed at bringing down near-record diesel prices by waiving restrictions on cheaper red-dyed diesel.

Speaking at a campaign event in Nebraska, a state hit hard by the spike in diesel prices , Trump said the order will “allow anyone to purchase tax-free red-dyed diesel for any reason.”

“This order will also drive down the costs of all goods, including groceries,” Trump said after signing the document, which has not been released yet.

Red-dyed diesel is the same as regular diesel. It’s just untaxed and dyed red to distinguish it for off-road use only, such as for tractors or industrial purposes.

Allowing broad use of tax-exempt diesel could be especially helpful for truckers grappling with a historic spike in diesel set off by the war in Iran and amplified by attacks on Russian refineries and export restrictions in China.

The diesel move could also help farmers who rely on trucks to deliver their goods to market and to receive fertilizer and other supplies.

“For many years, farm vehicles, construction equipment and other off-road vehicles have used what’s known as red-dyed diesel. You know what that is? I don’t know what the hell it is, but whatever it is, it is supposed to be very good,” Trump said, before adding it’s “exactly the same as normal diesel.”

According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the order will “temporarily allow off-road ‘dyed’ diesel for highway use and defer the applicable Federal excise tax, lowering costs for Americans.”

The fact sheet says the order directs the Treasury secretary, in consultation with the secretary of defense, to defer payment for on-road use of dyed diesel fuel for the rest of the year without interest or penalties and to “explore pathways to eliminate the obligation to pay the deferred taxes.”

The White House added that the order instructs administration officials to encourage more states to adopt similar policies and to ensure farmers have access to dyed diesel in high-demand areas.

Diesel prices skyrocketed from $3.76 a gallon before the Iran war to a record of $6.53 a gallon on September 22, according to AAA. The national average price for diesel on Monday was $6.32 a gallon.

Normally, diesel for on-road use is taxed at 24.4 cents per gallon by the federal government. Diesel also faces state taxes, which average 35.5 cents per gallon, according to federal data.

States have already been taking matters into their own hands to help truckers cope with high diesel prices.

Between September 23 and October 2, 10 states — including Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama — have taken steps to boost access to dyed diesel for use in highway vehicles, according to a tally from research firm ClearView Energy Partners. Those 10 states make up about a third of diesel sales.

The White House said the administration and state governors can “exercise their enforcement discretion” to halt inspections and waive tax liabilities normally linked to on-road use of dyed diesel.

A trucker filling up an 18-wheeler with 250 gallons of diesel is currently paying about $1,575 per fill-up. That cost could fall by about $150 if truckers can use diesel that does not face federal and state taxes.

“It’s not really a needle-mover,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, an app that tracks fuel prices.

De Haan cautioned that making dyed diesel more available is easier said than done, given the fluid situation and the various state lines truckers cross.

“Washington is great at making something sound easy that is not. Just because you’re allowing something to happen, doesn’t mean it will,” De Haan said. “This won’t fix the problem overnight, but it can allow politicians to take a bit of a victory lap.”

It’s not clear how long the executive order on diesel will remain in effect.

“We’re not going to need it long, I hope, we’re not going to need it long because your prices are plummeting and they’re going to really be plummeting,” Trump said.

Even though diesel prices have retreated about 20 cents from the recent peak, diesel has still skyrocketed about 77% this year, leaving it on track for the biggest annual percentage increase since AAA started tracking in 2000.

Of course, suspending taxes on fuel does not change the main problem: The world is facing a major refinery shortage.

Refineries in the Middle East and Russia have been damaged by war. Making matters worse, China is holding back fuel exports to avoid a shortage at home.

Refineries in the United States are attempting to bridge the gap, but they’re already running as hard as they can.

“This does save the consumer money in the short term, but it doesn’t solve the underlying issue,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to double down on his country’s punishing attacks on Russian oil refineries.

“For Ukraine, this is an existential threat. The only way to bring Moscow to the table is to destroy the Russian refinery system,” Lipow said. “I expect the drone attacks to continue.”

乔·雷德尔/盖蒂图片社

周一晚些时候，唐纳德·特朗普总统签署了一项行政命令，旨在通过取消对价格更低的红色柴油的限制来降低接近历史最高水平的柴油价格。

特朗普在内布拉斯加州的一次竞选活动中发表讲话，内布拉斯加州是受柴油价格飙升重创的州。特朗普表示，这项行政命令将“允许任何人出于任何原因购买免税的红色柴油”。

“这项命令还将降低包括食品杂货在内的所有商品的价格，”特朗普在签署这份尚未公布的文件后说道。

红色柴油与普通柴油成分相同。它只是未征税，并染成红色以示区别，仅供非道路用途，例如拖拉机或工业用途。

允许广泛使用免税柴油可能对卡车司机尤其有帮助，他们正努力应对因伊朗战争引发、俄罗斯炼油厂遭到袭击以及中国出口限制而加剧的柴油价格历史性飙升。

柴油的普及还可以帮助那些依靠卡车将货物运往市场以及接收化肥和其他物资的农民。

“多年来，农用车辆、建筑设备和其他越野车辆一直使用一种叫做红色柴油的燃料。你知道那是什么吗？我也不知道那到底是什么，但不管是什么，据说都非常好，”特朗普说道，然后又补充说它“和普通柴油完全一样”。

根据白宫发布的一份情况说明书，该命令将“暂时允许在高速公路上使用非道路‘染色’柴油，并推迟适用的联邦消费税，从而降低美国人的成本”。

情况说明书称，该命令指示财政部长与国防部长协商，推迟支付今年剩余时间内用于公路的染色柴油燃料的税款，不计利息或罚款，并“探索消除支付延期税款义务的途径”。

白宫补充说，该命令指示政府官员鼓励更多州采取类似政策，并确保高需求地区的农民能够获得染色柴油。

据美国汽车协会（AAA）的数据显示，伊朗战争爆发前柴油价格为每加仑3.76美元，9月22日飙升至创纪录的每加仑6.53美元。周一，全美柴油平均价格为每加仑6.32美元。

通常情况下，联邦政府对用于公路行驶的柴油征收每加仑24.4美分的税。根据联邦数据，柴油还要缴纳州税，平均税率为每加仑35.5美分。

各州已经开始采取措施，帮助卡车司机应对高昂的柴油价格。

据市场研究公司ClearView Energy Partners统计，9月23日至10月2日期间，包括德克萨斯州、俄克拉荷马州和阿拉巴马州在内的10个州采取措施，增加用于公路车辆的染色柴油的供应。这10个州的柴油销量约占全美柴油销量的三分之一。

白宫表示，政府和各州州长可以“行使执法自由裁量权”，停止检查并免除通常与在道路上使用染色柴油相关的税款。

目前，卡车司机给一辆18轮卡车加满250加仑柴油，每次大约需要支付1575美元。如果卡车司机可以使用无需缴纳联邦和州税的柴油，那么每次加满的成本可以降低约150美元。

“这其实并不会引起太大反响，”追踪燃油价格的应用程序 GasBuddy 的石油分析主管 Patrick De Haan 表示。

德哈恩警告说，考虑到当前形势的不确定性以及卡车司机需要跨越多个州界，让染色柴油更容易获得并非易事。

“华盛顿很擅长把一些并非易事的事情说得轻而易举。允许某件事发生，并不意味着它就会发生，”德哈恩说。“这不会在一夜之间解决问题，但可以让政客们好好庆祝一番。”

目前尚不清楚有关柴油车排放的行政命令将持续有效多久。

“我希望我们不需要它太久，我们不需要它太久，因为物价正在暴跌，而且还会继续暴跌，”特朗普说。

尽管柴油价格已从近期峰值回落约 20 美分，但今年柴油价格仍飙升约 77%，有望创下自 AAA 于 2000 年开始追踪以来最大的年度涨幅。

当然，暂停对燃油征税并不能改变主要问题：世界正面临严重的炼油短缺。

中东和俄罗斯的炼油厂在战争中遭到破坏。更糟糕的是，中国为了避免国内燃料短缺，正在限制燃料出口。

美国炼油厂正努力弥补这一缺口，但它们已经竭尽全力运转了。

“这确实能在短期内为消费者省钱，但这并不能解决根本问题，”利波石油协会总裁安迪·利波说道。

周末期间，乌克兰总统泽连斯基誓言要加大力度打击俄罗斯炼油厂。

“对乌克兰而言，这是生死攸关的威胁。要想让莫斯科回到谈判桌前，唯一的办法就是摧毁俄罗斯的炼油系统，”利波夫说。“我预计无人机袭击还会继续。”