Banning Diesel Exports Won't Cut Fuel Prices, Experts Warn

As Congressional leaders consider banning diesel exports to curb surging prices, experts warn that such a move would be a disastrous repeat of past failed energy policies. Richard Stern, Vice President of the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise, points out that a similar ban on crude oil exports in the 1970s did not reduce fuel prices but instead stunted American industry and benefited foreign adversaries.

The history of the 1975-2015 crude oil export ban shows that banning American diesel exports will not lower fuel prices for families or farmers. Instead, it would redirect where foreign oil goes, leaving global and domestic prices largely unchanged. Between 1987 and 2010, during the export ban, American crude was 6% more expensive than European traded crude.

A key consequence of the 1975 ban was a significant decline in U.S. crude output, which fell from 8.4 million barrels a day in 1975 to 5.0 million in 2008. Meanwhile, crude imports increased by 140% between 1975 and 2008.

Since the ban was lifted, U.S. crude output has risen 46% from 9.4 million to 13.7 million barrels a day, and exports of crude and petroleum products have more than doubled. However, a new ban would create a similar windfall for Russia and China today.