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Reason
Reason
Matthew Petti

Does Trump Want Lower Gas Prices or Oil Sanctions on Iran?

The law of supply and demand is the most basic insight in economics. When there's more of a good available for sale than people who want to buy it, the price goes down, and when more people want to buy the good than is available, the price goes up. As progressives have learned the hard way with housing, there is no magical government intervention to get around this.

That law presents a bit of a problem for President Donald Trump's agenda on oil. On one hand, Trump ran on criticisms of Biden-era inflation, including high gas prices. He also wants to drive down oil prices to pressure Russia. On the other hand, Trump wants to cut off Iranian oil exports in order to "bankrupt" the country and build leverage in negotiations.

In other words, he's trying to both increase and reduce the oil supply at the same time.

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