Cortez Masto to Trump Administration: Don’t Put Tariffs on Oil, Gas Imports from Allies

Washington, D.C. – As energy costs skyrocket, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) demanded the Trump Administration refrain from imposing new tariffs on oil and gas imports from allied and partner countries. In her letter to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer, the Senator spoke out against the Administration’s newly announced Section 301 investigations, which the Administration is using to replace its illegal, blanket tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court. Once completed, the Section 301 investigations on our allies and other partner nations could result in the implementation of tariffs on their fuel imports. As gas prices climb higher and higher due to Trump’s foreign war-of-choice in Iran, these potential tariffs will only make it harder for working families to fill up at the pump. A December Joint Economic Committee report estimates that each American family paid nearly $1,200 in tariff costs in 2025. “It is therefore concerning that as the nation deals with skyrocketing fuel prices costing Americans billions of dollars per week, the recent Section 301 investigations explicitly appear to target energy products from partner nations with threats of new taxes,” wrote the Senator. “For example, the action published in the Federal Register for the 301 investigation criticizes Norway and Malaysia for exporting too many fuel and oil products […]. A number of the sixteen economies subject to the excess capacity investigation including Norway, Japan, and South Korea, are among the United States’ most important liquified natural gas (LNG) trading partners and allies. Canada, a major supplier of crude oil to the United States, also maintains a substantial energy trade surplus with our country and is a target of the new 301 actions. President Trump previously imposed tariffs on Canadian oil and gas products in early 2025.” “President Trump’s ill-conceived war in Iran has caused skyrocketing prices at the pump for Nevadans. The last thing Nevadans need is to pay even more taxes on fuel and energy products from friendly countries that are refined and processed in the United States. I urge you to back away from the language in the current 301 investigation that implies any trade deficit in oil products is by definition the result of an unfair trading practice and refrain from placing any additional tariffs on oil products we rely on in the United States,” concluded the Senator. Read the full letter here . Senator Cortez Masto has consistently supported lowering costs for working families in Nevada. Following her consistent pushes to repeal the coffee tariffs, the Trump Administration decided to exempt certain imports not grown in the United States – like coffee – from the disastrous blanket tariffs. Earlier this year, Cortez Masto introduced the Lowering Home Energy Costs Act to help everyday Americans lower their energy costs by putting money back into their pockets if they make their homes more energy efficient. She has introduced legislation to help combat high gas and energy prices in Nevada and across the country and joined Senator John Curtis (R-Utah) as the Democratic lead on legislation to help lower gas prices in the West. ###