With the midterms looming, Trump has no real way out of his gas price problem
The president is facing a shortage of refining capacity, and more Venezuelan oil isn't going to help.
As the midterm elections approach, President Donald Trump has struggled to address the issue of high gas prices. Despite a recent ceasefire with Iran, gas prices remain elevated, with the U.S. average sitting at around $4.11 per gallon. Trump has proposed a variety of actions to secure more crude oil from Venezuela and exempt refineries from renewable fuel mandates.
However, the outcome of these efforts remains uncertain, as structural factors continue to keep prices high. Even after the midterms, there is little hope that increased Venezuelan production will lower gasoline prices, as the limited number of U.S. refineries capable of processing heavy Venezuelan crude are already operating at maximum capacity.
Additionally, the process of scaling up production will likely take several years, if the legal agreement with the Pentagon even holds. To alleviate some of the pressure, the Environmental Protection Agency ended its summer ethanol blending requirements early and granted waivers to exempt some refineries from adding biofuel to their diesel and gasoline products.
While this may provide a slight margin of price relief for consumers, it is unlikely to significantly impact the overall high fuel costs that Americans are facing.
Written by urgent.news from Grist's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
