Facing high oil prices, Trump urgently convened oil industry giants to discuss countermeasures.

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Gasoline prices in the United States have climbed to their highest levels since 2022, and the Trump administration is facing dual political and economic pressures brought about by the turmoil in the energy markets.

According to Axios, Trump held a meeting with oil and gas industry executives at the White House this Tuesday to exchange views on the energy market shocks caused by the Iran war and other issues. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner all attended the meeting.

At the same time, Trump continues to threaten Iran. According to Xinhua News Agency, Trump posted on social media in the early hours of the 29th: "Iran just doesn't get it, they don't know how to sign a non-nuclear agreement. They better smarten up—quickly!" Trump also shared a photo in which he is holding a gun, with the caption "No more Mr. Nice Guy."

The Strait of Hormuz has effectively been put under blockade—a waterway responsible for about a quarter of global maritime oil shipments—and the resulting unprecedented supply disruptions in the Middle East are pushing commodity prices to multi-year highs. This is both an opportunity and a risk for the oil industry, while for the Trump administration, high oil prices are swiftly turning into a thorny political issue.

Oil industry executives gather at the White House, meeting covers key topics

Axios reports that attendees included Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, which the company spokesperson confirmed.

A White House official said, "The President frequently meets with energy industry executives to hear their feedback about the domestic and international energy markets." The official revealed that the topics discussed included domestic production, progress in Venezuela, crude oil futures, natural gas, and shipping.

The high-level nature of this meeting—with core White House staff and multiple presidential envoys in attendance—reflects the profound impact current energy market upheaval has on policy.

Surging oil prices, mounting political pressure

Rising energy prices have become a major concern for the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans. According to AAA data, the national average gasoline price in the U.S. on Tuesday was $4.18 per gallon, marking the highest level since the outbreak of the Iran war and the peak since 2022.

The White House has taken certain measures to try to ease pressure on prices, including exemptions to the Jones Act—which originally required goods shipped between U.S. domestic ports to use American-built and owned vessels. However, faced with structural supply shocks in the global crude oil market, the White House's available policy tools are very limited.

As U.S. gasoline prices are deeply linked to global crude oil markets, the government finds it difficult to effectively lower terminal oil prices through unilateral policy measures in the short term.

Supply shocks and demand concerns coexist, U.S. exporters may benefit

From a broader perspective, this supply disruption in the Middle East has a clear dual effect on the market.

On the one hand, sustained high prices will dampen oil demand in the U.S. and globally, and market uncertainty is also suppressing companies' investment and business confidence. On the other hand, tightening supply in the Middle East is boosting market demand for U.S. crude oil and liquefied natural gas exports, creating new export opportunities for U.S. energy producers.

For the oil industry, how to seize export opportunities while managing the risk of declining demand will be the core business challenge in the period ahead. For the Trump administration, seeking a balance between political pressure and market realities will also test the wisdom of its policies.

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