NACS, along with NATSO, SIGMA, EMA, NEFI and NPGA, signed a joint industry letter to the Trump administration regarding oil tariffs that was sent yesterday to the White House and Treasury Department.
The letter stated:
The undersigned organizations—whose industries together represent more than 90% of all motor fuel sales, and nearly all heating oil and propane sales, in the United States—write to express our deep concern with the potential imposition of tariffs on crude oil and other imported petroleum products, the international trade of which is critical to domestic affordability, security, and growth.
As the Trump Administration develops its tariff posture toward U.S. trade partners, we respectfully urge its consideration of these economy-wide implications and ask that it maintain a stable, predictable, tariff-free trade of petroleum products.
NACS and its co-signers highlighted the following reasons for their concern:
- Imported crude oil is necessary to meet the demand for refined petroleum products like gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and propane. The typically light crude oil produced here in the U.S. is not readily interchangeable with the typically heavy crude oil available abroad. This means refiners cannot simply replace levied imports with new domestic sources on demand; doing so would require many years—and many billions of dollars—to convert existing infrastructure. Because a supply of both light and heavy crude is required to maximize existing refining capacity and ensure current demand can be met, oil imports remain an essential component of America’s energy mix.
- Levying tariffs on crude oil and other petroleum product imports would increase the price of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and propane for millions of American consumers. Everyday expenses like driving a vehicle or heating a building would increase substantially—all at a time when such cost-of-living issues remain top of mind for families and small businesses across the country, and when much of the nation is experiencing one of the coldest winters in recent years.
- Beyond the direct cost of these fuels for consumers, higher petroleum product prices also impact the cost of goods and services across virtually all sectors of the economy. The trucking, rail and aviation industries all rely on petroleum products for their operations. One of the biggest inputs to the cost of shipping goods anywhere in the nation is the cost of diesel. If diesel prices rise, so do the prices of nearly everything that Americans buy in stores or have delivered to their homes. Likewise, commercial and industrial enterprises that rely on heating oil or propane at their facilities will see their overhead costs rise if North American petroleum imports are levied, furthering the upward pressure on the prices that consumers must ultimately pay.
NACS has been working with coalition partners and the new Administration to emphasize the unique nature of international trade of crude oil and refined products and the need to exempt those products from the imposition of any tariffs. These issues are likely to be a recurring topic in the months ahead and NACS will remain active in these policy debates.