How Trumps Canadian Oil Tariff Would Hit U.S. Refineries
![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/02/07/multimedia/00tariff-refine01altalt-ghbk/00tariff-refine01altalt-ghbk-facebookJumbo.jpg)
The largest refinery in the Midwest will have an unpalatable choice if President Trump imposes tariffs on Canadian oil: Pay more for the crude that it transforms into gasoline and diesel, or slash production.Both options threaten to increase prices at the pump, albeit modestly if Mr.Trump sticks with the 10 percent rate he announced this month.It is not clear whether the tariff will take effect after Mr.
Trump decided to hold it in abeyance until at least early March.Yet this refinery, built around 1889 on the south shore of Lake Michigan, near Chicago, is a reminder of just how difficult it can be to undo trade ties that go back decades.Mr.Trump, like many American leaders before him, appears to be yearning for a kind of energy independence that experts say is impractical and would not benefit individuals or the oil industry.“We don’t need their oil and gas,” Mr.
Trump said last month, referring to Canada.“We have more than anybody.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....