Trump Faces Growing Pressure to Restrict U.S. Oil Exports

The U.S. oil industry got a scare last week. News reports claimed that the Trump administration may be considering an export ban on crude oil and refined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel in order to bring those prices down—prices which have been elevated considerably by the reduction of oil supplies worldwide in the wake of the Iran war. But a Trump administration spokesperson said the administration has no plans to ban exports of oil or natural gas products. It's important to note that there is an old adage in Washington, D.C.:…