It would actually make a bad situation worse in the long run.
It is one of those bad ideas that seem compelling at first: If you're running low on an essential item, why sell what little you have?
And few items are more essential to a modern economy than diesel fuel. It powers trucks, trains, and boats, all of which are vital to moving goods from place to place. As diesel gets more expensive—it has never been more expensive than it is right now, in nominal terms—everything that must travel via truck, train, or boat gets more expensive too. This is no fun for anyone.
Some Republicans think they have hit upon an easy solution: stop exporting diesel.
[...]
In reality, a ban on exports would actually push prices higher, according to American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), a trade association that represents the fossil fuel industry. American refineries produce more than 5 million barrels of diesel every day, but America consumes only about 3.6 million barrels. If exports are taken off the table, refineries would quickly run out of space to stockpile the excess and would cut production. Less production means less supply, and thus higher prices.
...read more at reason.com
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I didnt realize we exported as much as we did.... Given that we are able to export that much I can see a world where the Trump Admin, Congress, hell even states, start putting pressure on these refineries to lower the U.S. price.
I am all for a free market economy, but a huge issue facing the U.S. is that blue states have made building or keeping refineries operational nearly impossible.... just look at Cali, and because of that, states like Texas, Louisiana, etc. are depended on heavily. Switching to electric doesn't work because not only do we have the power issue right now, but to my knowledge, there are a couple of heavy-duty electric truck manufacturers, and Tesla, for instance, is still working to ramp up production.
Not a fan of pressure being put on the companies to lower their prices, but I am wondering if the government (especially these blue states who have really fumbled the ball) could reach an agreement with the companies to build, reopen, etc., a few new refineries. Yes, they will take years a couple of years to build, but given how Russia has had so many refineries blown to hell, this is a long-term issue.
There has just got to be a win win between the gov't and the companies.
I don't think it was framed as a permanent pricing solution, but to induce a temporary increase of local supply (maybe even glut?)
At least not where I heard of it.
But I still expect it to backfire spectacularly as all market interventions tend to do.