OIL, GAS AND FUEL NOT SUBJECT TO US IMPORT DUTIES

Canadian and Mexican oil, EU gasoline exempted from US import duties.

Trump has decided not to impose tariffs on oil, gas and fuel imports to the United States, the Trump administration said.

The news came as a relief to refiners in the American Midwest, who feared running out of raw materials. The total US oil refining capacity, by the way, is 18.4 million barrels per day, and a certain part of it is supplied by imported oil, as WTI is too light.

In addition, this will save the country's east coast, which is used to receiving gasoline and diesel from European fuel producers, Reuters writes.

The day before, the United States had introduced a basic tariff of 10% on all goods imported into the country, and on top of that, dozens of the country's largest trading partners had received higher protective duties. The import duty will be 20% for goods from the European Union, 24% for Japan, 27% for India, 10% for Great Britain, 34% for China, etc.

But these measures had no effect on hydrocarbons from Canada and Mexico, nor on energy supplies imported into the United States from other countries.

The new tariffs will have a negative impact on global trade in general and on the global energy market in particular. The price of Brent oil has already fallen by 4.4% to $71.63, and that was just this morning.

By the way, the tariffs will not yet affect steel and aluminum, which already have tariffs, as well as copper, semiconductors, and a few other goods on which Trump has decided to introduce separate tariffs at a later date.

The tariffs will go into effect on April 5, and some a little later, on April 9.