President Donald Trump centered his 2024 election campaign on bringing down prices after a prolonged period of inflation. In particular, Trump called for greater domestic drilling, even as the Biden Administration accelerated domestic energy independence. Now that Trump is in office, energy executives are beginning to become impatient with him.
What Happened: The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released its quarterly survey of leaders in the oil and gas industry on Wednesday. Those surveyed did not mince words about their frustration with the Trump Administration.
"The administration's chaos is a disaster for the commodity markets. 'Drill, baby, drill' is nothing short of a myth and populist rallying cry. Tariff policy is impossible for us to predict and doesn't have a clear goal. We want more stability," one exploration and production executive said.
Feedback seemed to converge around a newfound state of uncertainty with the administration's tariff policy and contradictory public statements. Respondents complained of difficulty planning for future years, given the administration's changing rhetoric.
"I have never felt more uncertainty about our business in my entire 40-plus-year career," another executive said.
Why it Matters: Trump's ultimate tariff plans are unclear. The second-term president has repeatedly gone back and forth on his plans to place tariffs on U.S. allies, repeatedly pushing back announced tariffs by weeks.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE has traded roughly even since Trump took office on Jan. 20, outpacing the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, which is down around 6%.
Trump's embrace of tariffs is unusual for a Republican president. President Ronald Reagan, whose ideology of free markets and deregulation dominated Republican Party politics for over 30 years, warned tariffs "hurt every American worker and consumer."
Also Read:
April 2 Tariffs Could Trigger A US Dollar 'Rally To Sell,' Bank Of America Economists Say
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