Asia likely to benefit from cheaper Canadian and Mexican oil if Trump imposes tariffs

SINGAPORE/LONDON –

Oil producers in Canada and Mexico will likely be forced to reduce prices and divert supply to Asia if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump imposes 25% tariffs on crude imports from the two countries, traders and analysts said.

Two sources familiar with Trump’s plan say that oil would not be exempted from potential tariff hikes on imports from Canada and Mexico, despite the U.S. oil industry’s warnings that the policy could hurt consumers, industry and national security.

The United States accounts for 61% of waterborne flows from Canada and 56% from Mexico respectively, ship tracking data from Kpler showed.