US refiners cornered as supply options become limited

Weighed down by higher costs and lower margins, the US downstream sector is facing closures that could shrink capacity

With the US just shy of starting an all-out trade war, American oil refiners are attempting to make sense of President Donald Trump’s tariff threats as crude imports become a less reliable option for declining domestic refinery capacity. In the latest development to the new administration’s tariff proposals, Trump announced plans on 13 February for reciprocal tariffs on “closed” countries that tax imports from the US, according to a factsheet released by the White House on the same day. The move aims to expand the US’ trade access in countries where export tariffs are disproportionate to those offered by the US for importing the same products. Essentially, the tariff-matching programme would