, Columnist
To Bring Down Gasoline Prices, Start a (Trade) War
Donald Trump has a way to reduce our oil consumption.
Feeling lucky?
Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg
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Frustrated with OPEC’s inability to help him, U.S. President Donald Trump may have inadvertently found a way of bringing down gasoline prices: Step up the trade war to cut oil consumption. The snag is that it may not work in time for the midterm elections.
The threat of 10 percent tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese-made products helped propel Brent crude to its biggest daily loss in dollar terms since 2011 on Wednesday, before the new tariffs had even come into effect. China will respond to this latest escalation as the president continues to fume over trade deficits, escalating a trade war that no one will win.