Free Trade

Eric Boehm | 11.27.2024 2:15 PM

President-elect Donald Trump's threat to slap huge new tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico will likely cause gas prices to rise in the United States.

That's because Canada is America's largest source of petroleum imports, according to the Department of Energy's data. The U.S. has been importing about 4 million barrels of oil per day from Canada in recent months, thanks to the opening of a new pipeline. Mexico is also a major supplier to the U.S. market, accounting for about 10 percent of all crude oil imports in 2022.

If tariffs make those imports 25 percent more expensive (or if the flow of oil across the border slows or ceases in response to the new trade barriers Trump wants to erect), prices are likely to rise through the rest of the supply chain, including at the pump.

Trump's threatened tariffs would mean "higher gasoline and........

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