Trump says he may use tariffs on oil imports to protect U.S. Energy Jobs

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

A bit too late.  U.S. Oil & Gas sector is already getting decimated.

The silver lining to this mess might be if U.S. kept more of its oil and gas and LNG for domestic use, rather than exporting it.

Bear in mind, U.S. both imports and exports large amounts of oil.

Similar to a move to re-start manufacturing medical supplies and medicines locally in the U.S. rather than being dependent on China for manufacturing these medical goods, it would be a smart move for the U.S. to reconfigure more of its domestic oil refineries to process the ultra light crude oil from domestic fracking, and move closer toward *actual* energy independence.

No, the U.S. is currently NOWHERE NEAR actual "energy independence" regardless of anything that Trump says or that U.S. oil executives spout off to the media.

Now is a great time for the U.S. to significantly reduce its hydrocarbon exports and reconfigure the U.S, oil & gas industry to retain more of its domestic hydrocarbons for domestic use.  Significantly cut down on oil exports and oil imports, and instead retain hydrocarbons domestically.

The Middle East and Saudi Arabia can then go jump in a lake with a millstone around their necks.  

 

TRUMP SAYS HE MAY USE TARIFFS ON OIL IMPORTS TO PROTECT U.S. ENERGY JOBS

 

 

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Trump Says It's Time U.S. Passes War On ISIS To Russia, Iran, Iraq And Syria, Focuses On Oil Instead

 

President Donald Trump on Saturday said that, if needed, he will impose tariffs on oil imports in an effort to protect American energy companies and their thousands of employees.

During his press conference at the White House with the Coronavirus Task Force, the president was asked about a pending agreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia that could ultimately drive down the price of crude oil to $10 per barrel, which would harshly affect American-based companies.

Trump said that although lower gas prices are beneficial to Americans who can still drive their cars during the coronavirus pandemic for very low prices, he said it will "hurt a lot of jobs" in the United States.

"We're the number one producer in the world right now," Trump said before addressing Russia's pending agreement with Saudi Arabia and OPEC. "I don't like it for a different reason, because it's going to hurt a lot of jobs in our country at this price. It's going to hurt a lot of jobs.

"We're going to take care of our energy business. And if I have to do tariffs on oil coming from outside, or if I have to do something to protect thousands or tens of thousands of energy workers and our great companies that produce all these jobs, I'll do whatever I have to do."

Trump on Friday met with leaders from Exxon, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum and Devon Energy to discuss energy policy.

Fracking technology in the United States to extract shale oil has flipped the country into a top producer of oil in the world. A new agreement between Russia-Saudi Arabia will drive the cost down, which could cripple America's energy sector.

Kelly Crane, the president and CEO of Napa Valley Wealth Management, said a sharp dip in foreign prices would mean dependency on foreign oil, which could lead to more economic downturn in a time when jobs are already being lost and the stock market trying to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our shale producers can't make money below $40-50 a barrel, and if domestic production shuts down, we're back to depending on foreign suppliers for oil," Crane said.

That's when Trump stepped in Saturday to say a tariff would be imposed on that oil. Trump also took a swipe at OPEC, calling them a cartel and "illegal."

"Look, I've been against OPEC all my life," Trump said. "Because, what is it? It's an illegal, you could call it a cartel, you could call it a monopoly, there are a lot of different names for it. But it broke down very violently, very violently. So I don't care about OPEC, I really don't. I couldn't care less about OPEC."  ...