President Donald Trump may soon feel the need to "blockade" U. S. crude oil exports after those exports hit a record high recently, a trend which, if it continues, will increase the price U. S. consumers pay for gasoline, diesel and other petroleum-related products.
Nations around the world are scrambling to secure oil supplies that have been dramatically reduced by Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers of "hostile" countries which include major oil exporters such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, the U. S. Navy has placed a blockade on ships from Iranian ports leaving the Strait of Hormuz, though the effectiveness of the blockade is in dispute.
In an April 1 televised address Trump said: "To those countries that can’t get fuel — many of which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves — I have a suggestion. Number one, buy oil from the United States of America; we have plenty. We have so much."
