United States President, Donald Trump has ordered gasoline retailers across the country to immediately reduce pump prices, insisting that the recent decline in global crude oil prices should translate into cheaper fuel for American consumers.
Trump issued the directive in a post on his Truth Social platform, accusing fuel retailers of keeping gasoline prices artificially high despite crude oil trading at about $68 per barrel.
“Gasoline retailers must get their prices down immediately,” the president declared, urging companies to “do what they know is right” by passing lower costs on to motorists.
He warned that his administration would not tolerate price gouging, describing the practice as illegal and cautioning that retailers who fail to lower prices could face “big problems.”
According to Trump, gasoline should sell for about $2.50 per gallon, arguing that American consumers deserve to benefit from the easing of international oil prices instead of continuing to pay elevated prices at filling stations.
The president’s intervention comes amid renewed debate in the United States over the persistent gap between falling crude oil prices and the cost of refined petroleum products. Consumer advocacy groups have repeatedly accused fuel retailers of failing to promptly pass on lower international oil prices to consumers.
Trump also turned his criticism toward California, blaming the state’s fuel tax regime for increasing the financial burden on motorists.
He argued that California’s gasoline taxes had become excessively high and warned they could eventually exceed the value of the fuel itself if left unchecked.
According to the president, neither the federal government nor California residents should accept policies that keep fuel prices artificially high when global crude oil prices are falling.
He maintained that consumers should not be made to bear avoidable costs.
Trump’s directive mirrors a similar position recently adopted by the Nigerian government.
On Monday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, directed petroleum marketers to immediately reflect the decline in global crude oil prices in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), insisting that Nigerians should equally benefit from the easing of international oil prices.
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