2026-03-10T17:24:00-0400 / CBS新闻
自2月28日美国与伊朗开战后，油价已飙升约20%，导致全国燃油成本进一步上涨。特朗普总统正在权衡多项降低油价的方案。但专家表示，鉴于冲突可能持续数月，他抑制能源成本的选择有限。
“目前并没有太多有效的调控手段，”GasBuddy石油分析师帕特里克·德哈恩(Patrick De Haan)告诉CBS新闻，”他能做的最大举措是努力恢复并增强对霍尔木兹海峡的信心。”
能源和安全专家确实一致认为，降低石油和天然气价格最有效的方法是结束与伊朗的冲突，退而求其次则是通过军事手段确保霍尔木兹海峡的安全——这一关键水道处理全球20%的石油供应。不过，如果伊朗在海峡部署水雷，确保该水道安全可能会变得更加困难。
短期来看，对石油交易商和其他能源投资者进行舆论引导可能是特朗普最有效的工具。周一，在他告诉CBS新闻”与伊朗的战争’非常全面’”后，油价大幅下跌，至少暂时缓解了人们对冲突长期化的担忧。
以下是特朗普政府可能用来抑制汽油价格和其他能源成本的其他措施。
释放战略石油储备
战略石油储备(SPR)成立于20世纪70年代，旨在建立石油应急基金，以缓冲1973-74年石油禁运对经济造成的冲击。根据美国能源部，当石油供应中断（如自然灾害）时，总统和美国能源部长均可授权释放储备油。
《金融时报》报道，周一，七国集团(G7)财长召开会议，讨论通过国际能源署(IEA)储备协调释放石油。摩根大通大宗商品分析师指出，SPR和IEA储备加起来每天可释放约120万桶石油，但这”无法抵消霍尔木兹海峡运输中断可能造成的潜在损失”，他们估计后者可能很快达到每天1200万桶。
德哈恩指出，释放SPR至少可以进一步冷却市场。但他表示，如果不确保霍尔木兹海峡安全，这一策略不太可能将油价降至美国和以色列上月末袭击伊朗前的水平。
疫情期间，拜登政府在2022年总共释放了约2亿桶原油，这是美国历史上最大规模的储备释放。财政部称，这一举措与当时其他国家的石油释放行动协调配合，使美国汽油价格每加仑降低了17至42美分。美国在1991年海湾战争、2005年卡特里娜飓风和2011年利比亚战争期间也动用过战略石油储备。
限制美国石油出口
美国能源信息署(EIA)数据显示，美国已成为主要石油出口国，日均向全球输送约1020万桶石油，这一数量超过其进口量，使美国成为石油净出口国。
摩根大通指出，特朗普总统在国家紧急状态下有权限制原油出口。短期内，这可能通过将美国本土生产的原油留在国内来帮助降低国内油价。
然而，分析师们表示，从长远来看，这种做法可能适得其反，削弱国内石油生产的经济激励，导致全球供应进一步趋紧，重新给全球和美国燃油成本带来压力。
暂停联邦和州汽油税
联邦政府目前对汽油征收每加仑18.4美分的税，对柴油征收24.4美分的税，这些收入用于资助公路信托基金。暂时暂停这些税收可能会缓解燃油价格上涨。
但由于这些税收是美国国税局(IRS)税法的一部分，国会必须通过一项法律来暂停征收——鉴于华盛顿特区的党派分歧，这一障碍极高。
摩根大通认为，更可行的选择是美国各州自行暂停或削减燃油税。因为州级燃油税从每加仑15美分到超过50美分不等，暂停州税将”为消费者提供短期缓解”。
但弊端是：用于维护道路的税收收入将减少。
豁免《琼斯法案》
《琼斯法案》要求在美国港口之间运输的货物必须使用美国建造、悬挂美国国旗并由美国船员驾驶的船只运输。
特朗普政府如果认为出于国防需要或紧急情况，可以暂停该法案。
摩根大通分析师表示：”将战略石油储备释放与《琼斯法案》的临时豁免相结合，会使政策更有效。”
放松夏季汽油规则
联邦法规要求加油站在6月1日至9月15日期间停止销售E15混合燃料，因为其乙醇含量更高，在炎热天气下更容易蒸发，可能加剧空气污染。
由于E15比其他混合燃料便宜，特朗普政府可以暂时放宽这一规定。这在过去也曾实施过：美国环保署(EPA)去年夏天发布了紧急豁免，允许在温暖月份销售E15。
摩根大通指出：”此类豁免通过允许更高比例的乙醇混合，有效增加了可用汽油总量，在燃料市场紧张时期，这可以适度扩大供应并帮助缓解加油站价格压力。”
不过，他们补充说，这对汽油价格的整体影响将是”有限的”。
—玛丽·坎宁安报道
Can the president bring down gas prices? Here are 5 options available to Trump.
2026-03-10T17:24:00-0400 / CBS News
President Trump is weighing several options to lower oil prices, which have surged about 20% since the U.S. war with Iran began on Feb. 28, driving up fuel costs higher across the country. But his options for reining in energy costs are limited, especially if the conflict continues for months, experts said.
“There’s not a whole lot of levers that are going to be influential at this point,” Patrick De Haan, petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, told CBS News. “The biggest thing he could do is work towards is getting and boosting confidence in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Indeed, energy and security experts agree that the most effective means of reducing oil and gas prices would be to end the Iran conflict or, less ambitiously, militarily secure the Strait of Hormuz — the vital waterway that handles 20% of the world’s oil supply. Yet securing the channel could become harder if Iran deploys naval mines in the strait.
In the short-term, jawboning oil traders and other energy investors may be Mr. Trump’s most effective tool. Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after he told CBS News that the war with Iran is “very complete,” at least temporarily allaying concerns about a drawn-out conflict.
Here are other measures the Trump administration could use to reel in gas prices and other energy costs.
Tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was formed in the 1970s to act as an oil emergency fund with the idea of cushioning the economy from the kind of shockwaves caused by the 1973-74 oil embargo. The SPR is intended to be tapped when oil supplies are disrupted, such as in a natural disaster.
The president and the U.S. energy secretary can both authorize releases from the SPR, according to the Department of Energy. On Monday, finance ministers from the G7 nations met to discuss a coordinated release of petroleum through the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) reserves, the Financial Times reported.
Together, the SPR and the IEA could release about 1.2 million barrels a day, according to JPMorgan commodity analysts. But, they added, “it would not offset potential losses” from halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which they estimate could soon reach 12 million barrels per day.
Tapping the SPR could at least further cool markets, De Haan noted. But without securing the Strait of Hormuz, the strategy is unlikely to bring oil back down to their prices before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran late last month, he said.
During the pandemic, the Biden administration in 2022 released a total of roughly 200 million barrels of crude from the SPR to curb skyrocketing gas prices — the largest such release in U.S. history. According to the Treasury Department, the move — in coordination with oil releases by other countries at the time — reduced gas prices in the U.S. by 17 to 42 cents per gallon.
The U.S. also tapped the reserve during the 1991 Gulf War, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the war in Libya in 2011.
Restrict U.S. oil exports
The U.S. has become a major oil exporter, sending an average of about 10.2 million barrels of petroleum per day across the globe, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That outpaces the amount of oil it imports, making the U.S. a net oil exporter.
President Trump has the legal authority to restrict exports of crude oil during a national emergency, according to JPMorgan. In the short term, that could help reduce domestic oil prices by keeping U.S.-produced crude within its borders.
Over the longer term, however, that approach could backfire by weakening the economic incentives behind domestic oil production, the analysts said. That would lead to tighter global supplies and renew pressure on global and U.S. fuel costs.
Pause federal and state taxes
The federal government currently levies a tax of 18.4 cents per gallon on gas and 24.4 cents for diesel, revenue that’s used to finance the Highway Trust Fund. Temporarily suspending those taxes could ease fuel prices.
But because these taxes are part of the IRS tax code, Congress would have to pass a law suspending them — a high hurdle given the partisan divide in Washington, D.C.
A more plausible option would be for individual U.S. states to suspend or cut fuel taxes, according to JPMorgan. Because state fuel taxes range from 15 cents to more than 50 cents per gallon, state suspensions would “provide short-term relief for consumers,” they noted.
The downside: less tax revenue to maintain roads.
Waive the Jones Act
The Jones Act requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be moved on ships that are U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed.
The Trump administration could suspend the law if it’s deemed necessary for national defense or due to emergencies.
“Combining a release from the SPR with a temporary waiver of the Jones Act would make the policy more effective,” the JPMorgan analysts said.
Relax summer gas rules
Federal rules require gas stations to stop selling a blend called E15 from June 1 to Sept. 15 because its higher ethanol content means it evaporates more easily in hot weather, which can contribute to air pollution.
Because E15 is cheaper than other blends, the Trump administration could temporarily relax the regulation. That’s been done before. The Environmental Protection Agency last summer issued an emergency waiver allowing E15 to be sold in the warmer months.
“Such waivers effectively increase the available gasoline pool by allowing higher ethanol blending, which can modestly expand supply and help ease pressure on pump prices during periods of tight fuel markets,” JP Morgan noted.
However, the overall impact on gas prices would be “limited,” they added.
—With reporting by Mary Cunningham.
