JD Vance Hails Trump’s Red-Dyed Diesel Order to Tackle High Fuel Prices, but Top Oil Analyst Warns It May Not Lower Costs: 'Limited and Uneven'
Vice President JD Vance hailed President Donald Trump‘s decision to allow the temporary use of red-dyed diesel, reserved for construction and farming applications, on highways as high fuel costs continue to impact ordinary Americans.
JD Vance Touts Trump’s Prompt Response
On Monday, Vance took to the social media platform X, quoting a post by the White House’s Rapid Response handle that announced Trump’s decision to sell red-dyed diesel for road use.
“Another example of President Trump acting quickly to tackle an urgent issue,” Vance said. Vance added that the administration was “fighting every day” to help Americans.
The move comes as fuel costs in the U.S. have skyrocketed amid escalating tensions with Iran and uncertainty over oil movement, as well as energy shocks fueled by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Trump, on Monday, blamed the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as refinery closures, as the driving factors of high gas prices; however, Russian chess grandmaster and activist Garry Kasparov said the price rise was a result of the Iran war.
Oil Analyst Remains Skeptical
Amid the Trump administration’s move, GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan, in a thread on the social media platform X, remained skeptical that the move would translate to lower prices, saying that the move would not benefit farmers as much because they already buy the fuel tax-free.
“This is really aimed at truckers, local haulers and diesel pickup owners,” De Haan said, adding that the catch was that most states in the U.S. had their “own dyed diesel laws, and an exec order can’t override them.”
He also said that the term “tax-free” was not entirely accurate, as many states “charge sales tax on dyed diesel instead of their fuel tax” and that the White House fact sheet said the taxes were deferred. “If it comes due later, anyone who switched could owe it.”
De Haan said that big fleets would not buy dyed diesel despite the move, as interstate transport was “a patchwork of state rules and tax headaches, and most major truck stops don’t sell dyed diesel,” and that the move may affect supply of fuel for farmers.
The analyst said that the move was a “real change on paper,” but it was “limited and uneven at the pump” and that buyers should cross-check their individual state’s rules “before filling up with dyed diesel if available.”
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