EU officials believe Trump may back away from plan for 90-day oil export ban

Senior European Union officials said U.S. President Donald Trump was unlikely to follow through on his threat to suspend oil exports for 90 days, a measure proposed to counter rising prices.

Darragh O’Brien, the energy minister of Ireland, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said ahead of a summit of European ministers in Dublin that he had received signals from the Trump administration during a visit to Washington, D.C., last week that such a ban was unlikely to be implemented.

“Without a doubt, any 90-day oil ban would have significant consequences for the EU,” O’Brien said. However, he added that the information he had gathered in the U.S. capital did not point to any concrete initiative to put the measure into effect.

European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen expressed the same view. He said he was “happy” to have seen public statements by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Ëright that an oil export ban would not be effective.

Trump backed the idea of a temporary halt to fuel exports earlier this month as prices rose because of the war in Iran and restrictions Moscow imposed on its exports following Ukrainian attacks on refineries.

According to S&P Global Energy, such a decision would send shock waves through European energy markets. U.S. oil accounts for more than 50% of the EU’s oil imports and about 10% of its consumption.

The Irish energy minister stressed that his conversations with other U.S. administration officials had not left him with the impression that an export ban would be implemented. He said the measure would also have consequences for the United States itself and for the market for other fuels.