WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Imports of oil, gas and refined products were exempted from U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday.
The exemption will come as a relief to the U.S. oil industry, which had expressed concerns that new levies could disrupt flows and raise costs on everything from Canadian crude oil serving Midwest refineries to European cargoes of gasoline and diesel to the eastern seaboard.
Trump on Wednesday announced he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on dozens of the country’s biggest trading partners, deepening a trade war that he kicked off on his return to the White House.
The trade protections, however, do not apply to energy imports from Canada or Mexico – which are already exempted under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement free trade deal – nor do they apply to energy imports from any other country, a White House official said.
Canada and Mexico are the two largest sources of imported crude oil to the United States, while Europe is a significant source of imported fuel to the U.S. East Coast, which has a dearth of oil refineries.