Are we getting a diesel export ban?
asserted
we → get → ban
Time will tell.
asserted
Time → tell → ?
President Donald Trump endorsed the idea Sept. 22, telling a reporter that America should “not send out the diesel.”
asserted
America → endorse → diesel
Energy Secretary Chris Wright pushed back the next day: “The blunt tool of banning diesel exports definitely doesn’t work.”
asserted
tool → push → exports
Republicans are divided, while Democrats anticipate the political rewards of rising fuel costs.
asserted
Democrats → divide → costs
This dispute reflects a principle James Madison described in Federalist No. 10: A large republic encompasses competing regional interests that can check one another.
asserted
that → reflect → one
Today, partisan polarization often obscures those differences.
asserted
polarization → obscure → differences
Diesel has brought them into view.
asserted
Diesel → bring → view
Support for an embargo is concentrated in agricultural states, where soaring fuel prices are especially painful.
asserted
prices → concentrate → states
The war with Iran began shortly before spring planting, and American farmers spent $1.4 billion more on diesel than during the previous year’s planting season, a 63% increase.
asserted
farmers → begin → increase
By late September, diesel averaged $6.52 per gallon nationally, up 76% in a year, according to AAA.
uncertain
diesel → average → AAA
For farms operating on thin margins, those increases can erase a season’s earnings.
asserted
increases → operate → earnings
Iowa farmers faced a 72% diesel price increase during spring planting.
asserted
farmers → face → planting
Prices have climbed further as harvest gets underway.
asserted
harvest → climb → ?
Unsurprisingly, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) urged an embargo, declaring Sept. 19: “High diesel prices ARE KILLING FARMERS INCOME.”
asserted
prices → urge → FARMERS
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), the Republican nominee for Iowa’s other Senate seat, and Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Zach Nunn (R-IA) also support the idea.
asserted
Hinson → support → idea
Their constituents need relief.
asserted
constituents → need → relief
But politicians should remember that “doing something” does not guarantee doing good.
asserted
doing → remember → good
Ronald Reagan’s warning remains apt: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
asserted
I → remain → government
Good intentions cannot substitute for sound economics.
asserted
intentions → substitute → economics
Trump has delivered some meaningful help.
asserted
Trump → deliver → help
In July, the Federal Trade Commission reached a right-to-repair settlement with John Deere, giving farmers and independent repair shops access to diagnostic and reprogramming tools used by manufacturer technicians.
asserted
Commission → reach → technicians
Deere also pressed the administration to clarify federal emissions rules that had created legal concerns about providing repair tools more broadly.
asserted
that → press → tools
On Oct. 6, President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily allowing red-dyed diesel on highways and deferring the federal diesel excise tax through year’s end.
asserted
Trump → sign → end
That could benefit truckers and other highway diesel users.
uncertain
That → benefit → truckers
Farmers, however, already use tax-exempt dyed diesel for qualifying off-road work, so their direct benefit will be more limited.
asserted
benefit → use → work
Broader savings will depend on how the changes affect fuel supplies and prices.
asserted
changes → depend → supplies
Trump’s tariffs disrupted established relationships and invited retaliation.
asserted
tariffs → disrupt → retaliation
China imposed tariffs on American agricultural products, making them less competitive in a major export market.
asserted
them → impose → market
China has since resumed substantial soybean purchases and committed to buying additional American agricultural goods.
asserted
China → resume → goods
Yet uncertainty persists: U.S. officials were still pressing Beijing last month to fulfill earlier purchasing commitments.
asserted
officials → persist → commitments
Meanwhile, Trump’s August announcement of additional foreign beef imports rattled cattle producers already struggling with drought and a national herd at its smallest level in 75 years.
asserted
announcement → rattle → years
Ranchers trying to rebuild their herds hardly welcomed another shock from Washington.
asserted
Ranchers → try → Washington
These pressures help explain why calls for a diesel embargo extend beyond Iowa.
asserted
calls → help → Iowa
Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers supports keeping American diesel at home.
asserted
Rogers → support → home
Farmers in his state spent 73% more on diesel during spring planting than a year earlier.
asserted
Farmers → spend → planting
Traveling through Michigan in late September, I saw diesel selling for $7 a gallon.
asserted
diesel → travel → 7
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) warned of “massive harm to the refining industry,” while Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) called an embargo a “gimmick.”
asserted
Cornyn → warn → embargo
Their regional interests differ from those of farm-state lawmakers, but their objections deserve consideration on the merits.
asserted
objections → differ → merits
In this case, Wright offers the more persuasive answer.
asserted
Wright → offer → answer
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
