“We cannot permit a resource so vital to be dominated by one so ruthless. And we won’t.”—George H.W. Bush, 1990, on Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait
“Go get your own oil!”—Donald Trump, March 31, 2026, on Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz
President Trump didn’t attack Iran to help the U.S. economy at the expense of its allies. Nonetheless, that is more or less what has happened.
Despite
high gasoline prices, the U.S. economy is holding up. Abroad, though, interest rates and inflation risks have shot up, fuel is
being conserved, and economic forecasts are darkening.
Economists at Citi have marked down the eurozone’s growth this year by 0.4 percentage point, the United States’ by just 0.1 point. The reason: Net imports of oil and liquefied natural gas consume 1% to 2% of European gross domestic product, whereas net exports contribute 0.2% to U.S. output.