The ongoing conflict with Iran led by the U.S. and Israel has presented a mixed bag for American consumers, who have been hit with rising gasoline prices at the pump. Otherwise, they have remained largely insulated from consequences suffered in most other nations across the globe for one simple reason: President Donald Trump’s Energy Dominance agenda.
AAA reported on Friday that the nationwide average price for a gallon of regular gas stood at $3.32, an 11 percent rise from the week before. That is a fairly muted price response to the effective closing of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz but be warned: Crude prices had risen by 30% as of Friday since the conflict began, meaning the full impact of that shut-down has yet to make its way fully into the cost of gasoline.
So, more consumer pain at the pump is on the way. That is especially true in Gavin Newsom’s California, where prices had already risen well above $5/gallon in many parts of the state, with regular averaging a whopping $4.90/gallon thanks to the California Democratic Party’s taxes and myriad environmental fees.
Newsom’s regulators aren’t satisfied, though. Those at the California Air Resources Board (CARB) are busy planning another costly move related to Newsom’s pet cap-and-trade program on carbon emissions. It’s green craziness on a grand scale, implemented by politicians who live in a fantasy world.
Otherwise, though, Americans are well insulated from the worst possible impacts that other countries will experience in the coming days and weeks. For example, thanks to the oil boom that took place under the “Drill, Baby, Drill” agenda of Trump’s first presidency, only 3% of Middle East exports flow to the U.S. daily. This means there is essentially no chance of Americans suffering any kind of supply shortage.
By contrast, more than 75% of Persian Gulf crude flows to China and other Asian markets. The communist Chinese government is so concerned about its situation that it ordered domestic refineries to cease exports of gas, diesel, and other refined products so they can be conserved for internal use. But that’s the equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on an arterial wound: Imported oil is literally the lifeblood of China’s economy.
India is also hard-hit by the Hormuz shutdown since 15% of the daily flows through that key choke point normally ship to Indian ports. To help mitigate the damage for a U.S. ally, the Trump Treasury Department moved on Thursday to lift sanctions on Russian crude to increase flows to India and other Southern Asian markets. Yet another problem U.S. consumers don’t have to worry about.
The country’s Energy Dominance status as by far the world’s largest producer of natural gas gives domestic consumers a similar advantage over the rest of the world where that crucial energy commodity is concerned. U.S. natural gas prices had barely budged during the first week of the conflict mainly because the country is almost 100% self-sufficient for its natural gas needs.
And it gets better: The U.S. economy stands to benefit greatly from Qatar’s decision to shut down its own LNG exports due to the conflict. America’s status as by far the biggest LNG exporting country means U.S. companies will be asked to step up now to help fill the void in supplies left by the Qatari shutdown. They’ll be shipping higher volumes at much higher prices – the price for LNG shipments to both Europe and Asia had leapt by more than 50% by Friday.
Why does the U.S. enjoy this status related to LNG? Mainly thanks to the Energy Dominance agenda during both the Trump 45 and Trump 47 presidencies. Joe Biden and his autopen handlers did their best to dampen this amazing industry’s growth from 2021 – 2025 but had only modest success. Not even their unjustified and senseless year-long permitting pause could do the trick.
Make no mistake: Every energy consumer on earth is being impacted by the temporary halt to traffic transiting the Strait of Hormuz. But Americans are insulated from the worst impacts thanks to Trump and his Energy Dominance agenda. This is why we “Drill, Baby, Drill,” folks.
David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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