By Jarrett Renshaw
Oct 5 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump is preparing an executive order to expand access to tax-exempt diesel that will be unveiled as soon as Monday, two sources familiar with the matter said.
High diesel prices, which shot to a record of about $6.50 a gallon last month, are a risk to Trump ahead of the Nov. 3 elections. Prices for the fuel integral to trucking goods have risen in response to the wars in Iran and Ukraine which have led to attacks on refineries in Russia and the Middle East.
The order is expected to contain a variety of ways to expand access to diesel which could include making more available so-called red dye diesel fuel which is used by the agriculture industry and by some off-road vehicles, the sources said.
A third source said the order will likely direct the US Department of Transportation to coordinate with states to waive taxes on road diesel.
G7 countries announced last week that they would release 100 million barrels of diesel, after pressure from Trump who had considered banning US exports of the fuel. But it was not clear how much of that release would be entirely new supplies or compliance with a global agreement in March.
Bloomberg first reported the news on the executive order.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Omaha, Nebraska; Arathy Somasekhar in Houston and Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; writing by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
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