{"id":497996,"date":"2026-10-16T11:10:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T11:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/497996\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T11:10:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T11:10:22","slug":"could-california-be-the-solution-to-trumps-diesel-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/497996\/","title":{"rendered":"Could California be the solution to Trump’s diesel woes?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gas prices are high<\/a>. Diesel prices are higher \u2014 about $8 a gallon in California<\/a>, $2 more than the national average. <\/p>\n

For truckers, that\u2019s a crisis. Their big rigs get about a paltry six miles to the gallon and filling their tanks in the Golden State now costs up to $2,500 a pop. For the guys who own a single truck or the small companies (which is the majority of trucking businesses), it can be hard to pass along those extra fuel costs to customers \u2014 which, as my colleague Nilesh Christoper wrote about<\/a>, is causing a lot of pain in the industry.<\/p>\n

Truckers everywhere are stomping mad<\/a>, and it\u2019s a problem for President Trump and Republicans heading into the midterms<\/a>. Eventually, higher diesel prices are going to mean higher prices on the goods those trucks are transporting, and that\u2019s an even bigger problem.<\/p>\n

Trump has been throwing spaghetti at the wall trying out one limp solution after another to bring prices down \u2014 cutting taxes<\/a>, brokering deals with Russia<\/a>, telling us it\u2019s just not a problem. But of course, it is. <\/p>\n

\"Truck <\/p>\n

Truck drivers fill they diesel tanks at United Oil in Long Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.<\/p>\n

(Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

One Southern California energy expert<\/a> has spent recent days in Washington, D.C., trying to convince the administration that the solution lies in California, in the vast oil reserves under our cities and farms that we largely leave untapped for environmental reasons. Environment aside, it\u2019s a long-running and compelling (to some, anyway) argument that may have found its moment, meaning California might become Trump\u2019s next solution \u2014 or at least scapegoat \u2014 to a costly problem. <\/p>\n

More on that, but first, a recap of where we are. <\/p>\n

The red dye ploy<\/p>\n

Three thousand years ago in Trump time, but which I mean earlier this month, the president signed an executive order that allowed truckers to use red dye diesel<\/a> as a way to lower costs. <\/p>\n

Red dye diesel is, you guessed it, my genius readers, diesel that has been dyed red \u2014 to differentiate it from the stuff at truck stops. Farmers and other agricultural types are allowed to buy red dye diesel without certain taxes to use in tractors and other equipment that doesn\u2019t run on our roads. <\/p>\n

The Trump order allows truckers to buy red dye and defer paying the roughly 25-cent-per-gallon federal tax on it. So it\u2019s not really saving them money, just delaying payment. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a small step, but nonetheless, it\u2019s a positive step,\u201d said Michael Mische, a professor at the USC Marshall School of Business whose conservative-leaning take on energy policy has often raised the ire of the Newsom administration<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"President <\/p>\n

President Trump signs an executive order to lower the cost of diesel fuel during a campaign rally on Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb.<\/p>\n

(Win McNamee \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a problem with Trump\u2019s red dye plan. States have their own laws about red dye diesel, and the feds can\u2019t change them. So even if truckers could find a place to buy red dye diesel (again, not sold at regular gas stations), and even if the incentive of paying taxes later made the search seem worthwhile, they would often be breaking state laws. <\/p>\n

Eric Sauer, chief executive of the California Trucking Assn., a trade group that advocates for the industry, said his group has been advising members not to use the crimson fuel until it\u2019s clear that states are going to change their rules. Some, like Missouri, have. California has not. <\/p>\n

Either way, Sauer said, allowing truckers to use diesel dyed red really doesn\u2019t increase the overall supply, just shifts it around \u2014 which is unlikely to bring prices down.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still the same supply of diesel fuel out there,\u201d Sauer said.<\/p>\n

Global supply<\/p>\n

The global supply of crude oil, has been, shall we say, negatively affected by our war with Iran. Despite Trump\u2019s assurances that the conflict is winding down, two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked<\/a> this week, highlighting that perhaps Iran is unaware the war is over. Fears of that conflict and others sent energy prices soaring even higher. <\/p>\n

Faced with that unpleasant reality, Trump this week also announced he was lifting sanctions on diesel exports from Russia<\/a>, a move that shocked his own party and most of the world. <\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

The PCK petroleum refinery stands illuminated at twilight on April 28, 2026, in Schwedt, Germany. The refinery, which produces gasoline, diesel, kerosene and bitumen, receives 20% of its oil from Kazakhstan through the Russian Druzhba pipeline.<\/p>\n

(Sean Gallup \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

That deal could bring 36 million barrels of Russian diesel, at most, to American shores, which sounds like a lot until you realize we use about 4 million barrels of the stuff every day. So Trump essentially sold out Ukraine and demolished what was left of our European standing for nine days of diesel \u2014 an amount unlikely to lower prices. <\/p>\n

In California, that\u2019s especially true because, as UC Berkeley professor Aaron Smith points out, about 70% of our diesel \u201cis actually not made from crude oil and coming from oil refineries. It\u2019s made from vegetable oils and animal fats.\u201d <\/p>\n

Yes, the Golden State relies heavily on so-called renewable diesel that, Smith says, \u201cintroduces, I think, another wrinkle\u201d when trying to lower costs. <\/p>\n

California\u2019s fault<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s get back to Mische, the USC professor. For years<\/a>, he\u2019s been arguing that California\u2019s refusal to pump more oil should be viewed as a national security concern. <\/p>\n

California actually imports the majority of its crude oil<\/a>, more than 60% from other countries, and our refineries for a number of debated reasons have been closing. Our imports have been growing in recent years. We also have no pipelines connecting us to the rest of the U.S., unlike many other states. That means we can\u2019t easily get oil except what\u2019s shipped in through our ports. <\/p>\n

At the same time, the West Coast with its many military installations is undeniably pivotal to national security. Mische argues that without adequate fuel reserves for a shortage \u2014 like during a war \u2014 our military readiness could be jeopardized. He wants to see California not only pump more, but for the federal government to store more of that California crude. <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A train of tank cars enters the Chevron EL Segundo refinery, one of the largest petroleum processing facilities in California, on April 8, 2026. California imports approximately 75% of its crude oil, with nearly one-third of the crude supplied from the Middle East. Prices at the pump in the state are averaging $5.93 per gallon today amid the war in Iran.<\/p>\n

(Mario Tama \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

These arguments haven\u2019t gained much traction<\/a> in our heavily Democratic state, which has moved forcefully away from fossil fuels and toward renewable sources in recent years and which has little interest in increasing drilling. But Mische and his colleagues may have found their moment. <\/p>\n

Earlier this year, they wrote draft executive orders about California\u2019s oil industry that he says the Trump administration is considering \u2014 one would attempt to force California to pump more oil using the authority of the Defense Production Act of 1950.<\/p>\n

Trump has used that wartime act several times in the last few months, and Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance announced it would be used to expand production at a Texas oil refinery.<\/p>\n

Mische said he spent last week in conversations with the administration on the proposed orders and is \u201cconfident\u201d Trump will \u201cissue additional executive orders under the Defense Production Act<\/a> for California\u201d by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Beyond the national security argument, such orders could please Trump because they do two things. First, if California pumps its own oil, it could free up some imported oil for other states, which could lower prices \u2014 though it would certainly take time and require more refinery capacity. <\/p>\n

Second, and likely of more interest to the White House, it makes California \u2014 and Newsom \u2014 the villain for this sticky Republican problem. California will sue, of course, which would just help the Trump political narrative. <\/p>\n

Kevin de Le\u00f3n, a California Senate president emeritus and author of SB 100, California\u2019s landmark 100% clean energy law, said he can easily envision Trump claiming that \u201cwe have lots of cheap oil in the United States that can lower your gas prices \u2014 but crazy lefty California is blocking us.\u201d <\/p>\n

Actually, it\u2019s hard to imagine Trump not grabbing the chance to blame gas prices on the Golden State \u2014 or Newsom. <\/p>\n

What else you should be reading:<\/p>\n

The must-read: \u2018Very few people out in the streets\u2019: ICE surge rattles California\u2019s Central Valley<\/a><\/p>\n

The California angle: Justice Dept. demands California prove citizenship for lists of voters or withhold ballots<\/a><\/p>\n

The L.A. Times Special: The U.S is in the death business. Newsom can change that, and win votes<\/a>
Stay Golden,<\/p>\n

Anita Chabria<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here<\/a> to get it in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gas prices are high. Diesel prices are higher \u2014 about $8 a gallon in California, $2 more than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2672,7,9,8,21403,63248,1929,22273,31782,193364,193365,29239,29860,26948,1519,430,72],"class_list":["post-497996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-administration","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-industry","tag-michael-mische","tag-price","tag-problem","tag-recent-day","tag-red-dye-diesel","tag-single-truck","tag-solution","tag-taxis","tag-trucker","tag-trump","tag-week","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}