Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna’s proposed gas export ban will backfire, people familiar with natural gas policy warn.

“As the Trump administration continues to betray Americans and extend the war with Iran, Congress needs to step in and put the interests of our hard-working constituents first,” Khanna stated in a press release last April. The Gasoline Export Ban Act of 2026 would freeze gas exports if the average price of gas in the U.S. is above $3.12 per gallon for 7 days, and lift the ban if it’s below that mark for 7 days. (RELATED: Americans May Be Stuck Paying Wartime Gas Prices Long After Iran Deal)

Khanna’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

“My proposals will help lower gas prices by taking on corporate profiteering. They put working and middle-class Americans first,” Khanna previously posted on X.

My proposals will help lower gas prices by taking on corporate profiteering. They put working and middle-class Americans first.

The Gasoline Export Ban Act restricts giving American crude oil to foreign countries when the average price is higher than $3.12. That keeps supply at… https://t.co/BtyPcLJFwj

— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) April 12, 2026

The average price of gas in the U.S. is $4.29 per gallon as of June 2, Center for Strategic & International Studies fellow Clayton Seigle wrote June 5. The average prior to the Iran War was $2.94. Seigle warned that price control policies would worsen the situation by causing refineries in the Gulf Coast to deprioritize gasoline production in favor of diesel and also stress an already strained global supply chain.

“Rep Khanna’s legislation will do absolutely nothing to affect fuel prices. It’s a gimmick that plays on people’s legitimate frustrations with energy costs while most likely not passing Congress nor having any effect on the international oil markets which are a primary driver of fuel prices,” writer and former trucker Gord Magill told the DCNF.

“I would advise Rep Khanna and his friends in the Democratic Party who are so so worried about consumer energy costs to reverse course on their climate alarmist priors and pass legislation which will help truckers, farmers, and others who use diesel engines,” Magill said.

Former President Joe Biden previously froze liquefied natural gas exports to non-free trade agreement countries in January 2024, which critics argued stalled investment, undermined America’s national security, and didn’t even help reduce carbon emissions. President Donald Trump reversed the ban in January 2025 during his first day in office.

Magill cited Rep. Mike Collins’ and Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ Diesel Liberation Act as an example of legislation that’d help diesel users.

“[Diesel Liberation Act] would nullify the extremely costly DEF fluid emissions control mandates which have flummoxed truckers and farmers for two decades now,” Magill said. “The loss to the costs associated with these systems, especially because of their fragile nature and how often they breakdown, are nearly incalculable, though some estimates put it at over $13 billion a year in direct losses to those who feed us and keep our economy rolling.”

“I would also advise Rep Khanna and his collleagues [sic] to examine why so many upgrading facilities and refiners in America have gone out of business over the past decade or so, and consider the loss of that capacity in light of our energy cost crisis,” Magill said.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), America’s largest trade association for the natural gas and oil industry, also opposes Khanna’s bill.

“We would oppose any export restrictions, period. Because … it doesn’t meet the measure of smart and wise energy policy. Every energy policy that we should be pursuing should be about producing, how do we produce more?” API president Mike Sommers said during an interaction with a journalist Monday. “How do we move more? How do we refine more? And export policies, export restrictions, do the opposite of all of those things.”

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