White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that oil tankers are crossing the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran's actions to disrupt shipping in the waterway have not harmed the U.S. economy, reiterating the Trump administration's position that the war must end within weeks, not months.
He added, "We already see that oil tankers have started flowing through the strait, and I think this is evidence of Iran's weakness."
He continued, “We are very optimistic that this will end in the short term, and then there will be repercussions on prices when it is over for a few weeks, as the ships arrive at the refineries.”
Hassett explained that there are concerns that Asia may not export the same amount of refined oil to the United States to compensate for the reduced supplies from the Middle East.
He said, “We see some indications that they may stop that to make sure they have enough energy for themselves. And we have a plan for that.”
Trump postponed his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday to focus on the war in Iran.
Hassett said that the US action in Iran is in China's interest.
He added, “This is a situation where the goals of both countries align, as we both want, as you know, a stable global oil market… When this war ends, which will happen soon, I am sure they will meet and have a lot to talk about, and we hope the Chinese will express some gratitude.”
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