“The first reason prices are higher is the 10 percent tariff President Trump put in place on Canadian energy imports,” David Seduski, the head of North American gas at Energy Aspects, told Rigzone. “The U.S. imports approximately five to seven percent of its daily gas supply from Canada (depending on the time of year). A 10 percent tariff raises the cost of those imports by about $0.20 per million British thermal units (MMBtu),” he added.
Canada is the biggest supplier of heavy crude to American refiners, exporting it at a rate of close to 4 million barrels daily, which makes it the biggest exporter of crude oil to the U.S. in general. Mexican crude oil exports north of the border are much smaller, at less than half a million barrels daily, but they still comprise the second-largest share of foreign oil in U.S. refiners’ mix. That fact may have played a role in Trump’s willingness to negotiate new trade deals quickly before the tariffs kick in and retaliation begins.