All else equal, this would increase gasoline prices, which in most of the country have averaged $3 per gallon for the past year amid historically low levels of petroleum inventories (see chart). But Trump wants lower gasoline prices, which is why if the oil tariffs come at all, they will likely start slowly.

The market anxiety ahead of Donald Trump's self-imposed Feb. 1 deadline for a first round of tariffs focused on oil and gas after the president appeared to acknowledge Thursday there could be issues with the energy staples in his overall plans.

Oil prices settled up on Tuesday, bouncing back from multi-week lows, after the White House reaffirmed U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to issue tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports this week.