Coming Soon: Trump Stickers on Pumps?

Over at Reason is a piece about concerns within the incoming administration about the effects tariffs might have on gas prices, which Trump's favorite brand of snake oil is poised to increase:

Soon, a new face may adorn your local gas pump. (Image cropped from Amazon. The author believes this use of the image is protected as fair use under U.S. coyright law.)

[Alberta Premier Danielle] Smith had pitched Trump on exempting Alberta's crude oil exports from the 25 percent across-the-board tariffs that the incoming president has threatened to impose, the Edmonton Journal reported. Alas, Trump seems unmoved. "I haven't seen any indication in any of the president's public commentary or even in the comments that he had with me that he's inclined to change his approach," Smith told the paper.

...

A new tariff on that crude oil will be passed along to consumers down the supply chain. Among other things, that likely means higher prices at the pump. The specifics remain to be seen, but analysts believe prices could jump by 40 cents or even 70 cents per gallon. If those tariffs spiral into a broader trade war, energy companies are already warning about "volatility in crude oil prices, impacting refineries and downstream fuel markets, especially for gasoline and diesel." [links omitted, bold added]

Not only will Trump have thrown a monkey wrench into energy prices, but everything else, since energy factors into manufacturing and transportation.

Trump seems oblivious to the problem, but his advisors are concerned enough that a slower ratcheting up of Trump's new tax may be in the offing.

-- CAV