Trump's 'problematic' Russia deal unmasked by expert: 'Not going to move the needle'

President Donald Trump's deal to buy Russian diesel fuel ahead of the midterms is more bluster than it is substantive, according to one expert.

Last week, Trump announced that the U.S. would buy more than 300,000 tons of diesel this month as an attempt to lower gas prices ahead of the midterm elections. The move was announced at a time when the national average price for a gallon of diesel fuel was above $6.20, according to figures from AAA. The deal has also sparked significant pushback from Republican lawmakers in Congress.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said on CNN that the deal, while lucrative for Russia, likely won't have the significant and sustained impact on U.S. fuel prices that Trump hopes.

"I'm very skeptical thatRussia simply has this amount ofdiesel sitting by," De Haan said, noting that Ukraine has been attacking Russia's oil infrastructure since the beginning of the war in 2022. "We've seenlong, long lines for diesel in Russia. So I think that'sproblematic, whether the supplyexists."

Gas prices have become a focal point of the second Trump administration. During the 2024 campaign, Trump promised to lower gas prices as part of his efforts to reduce the overall cost of living. However, stubborn inflation combined with Trump's decision to attack Iran has caused fuel prices to spike.

De Haan noted that the amount of oil Trump is buying, while nominally large, is a drop in the bucket compared to the needed intervention to stem the rising tide of gas prices.

"Theamount of diesel that we aresaid to be importing from Russiaover time is less than a week'ssupply," he said. "This initial 300,000tons is only about a day and ahalf of what we are producing asa nation on a daily basis. Sothere's just a lot of concern.Ultimately, this is not going tomove the needle much. Again,only a day and a half of supply. This is not something that'sgoing to have a material impact.It may have a psychologicalimpact until the market unpackswhether or not this diesel isactually coming from Russia."