The United States put forward the slogan of "energy independence" very early, as a result, the United States increased its support for oil and gas companies. In September 2019, the United States completed its net oil export for the first time since 1973. According to the situation at the time, the United States was expected to become a continuous net oil exporter by the end of 2020 or early 2021. This is an important step for the United States to achieve energy independence.
The sudden epidemic broke the original plan of the United States. Due to the high production costs of oil and gas companies, they are facing unprecedented challenges in the era of low oil prices. Profits of large oil and gas companies have plummeted, layoffs one after another, and some even declared bankruptcy. To help these local companies, Trump said that he would inject cash into the troubled US oil industry to help it survive the historical crude oil price plunge. In addition, the US government has also provided loan support to these companies.
In addition, the United States is also protecting domestic solid mineral companies through various means.
In June of this year, the U.S. Department of Commerce stated that AMG Vanadium LLC and U.S. Vanadium LLC have made requests. These companies claimed to have been violated by other vanadium producing countries unfairly pricing vanadium product imports and the value-added tax system. US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross stated that an investigation will be conducted on whether vanadium imports pose a threat to national security.
In July of this year, the Alcoa Association, which is composed of members such as Alcoa, Rio Tinto and a dozen other aluminum parts manufacturers, stated that the current volume of imports from Canadian aluminum has been increased by the Trump administration in accordance with Clause 232. The level before tariffs is similar. They believe that Canadian primary aluminum imports have soared and violated recent trade agreements. The US Trade Representative stated in a statement: Compared with January to July this year, the next monthly average Canadian aluminum imports will be reduced by about 50%. However, the US Trade Representative Office also stated that if Canadian aluminum imports exceed the limit set by the Trade Representative Office, a retaliatory tariff of 10% will be imposed on imports of the month.
