How Much Will Tariffs Now Increase Gas Prices In Minnesota?

Gas prices had already been slowly increasing in Minnesota, but now that tariffs on Canadian oil are in effect, here's how much more we could all be paying at the pump.

Unless you've made the switch and are driving an electrical vehicle (EV), you're probably still used to regularly stopping by your local gas station or convenience store to fill up the 'ol gas tank. After bottoming out last fall, prices have been bouncing back up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and they could go even higher in the coming weeks.

Of course, we're used to fluctuating gas prices, right? One not-so-horrible thing about the pandemic back in 2020 was that when everything shut down-- both here in Minnesota and across the globe-- demand for crude oil fell. And so did gas prices here in the Bold North, which hit a low for that year in mid-April 2020 of around $1.65 a gallon.

READ MORE: Minnesota's Favorite Gas Station Now Has 188 Locations

Then, on the other end of the spectrum, fueled by Russia's war with Ukraine, inflation, and other factors, gas prices skyrocketed just a few years later, hitting a record high of $4.75 a gallon in the North Star State on June 15th, 2022. Ouch.

But now that the Trump administration has imposed a 10 percent energy tariff on Canadian energy, gas prices in Minnesota are likely to rise even more than they usually do this time of year. Why is that?

The main reason is that Minnesota's two refineries, the Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount and the St. Paul Park Refinery, both refine a lot of crude oil from Canada. The Pine Bend Refinery is the largest in Minnesota and the 13th largest in the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). It can process about 335,000 barrels of crude oil per calendar day, the EIA said.

The Pine Bend Refinery, just off Highway 52 in Rosemount, Minnesota. (Google Maps)

Overall, the Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department says those two refineries produce more than two-thirds of the state’s petroleum products. And 70 percent of these products are refined from Canadian crude oil. That means that we could soon see increases at the pump at most, if not all of the 2,064 fueling stations located across the Gopher State.

Here's just how much that new 10-percent tariff on Canadian oil could increase prices across Minnesota, according to Patrick DeHaan, an analyst at GasBuddy.com:

While economic disruption caused by the tariffs could partially offset some price increases, residents in Minnesota and the Midwest could expect gasoline and diesel prices to rise by 5-20 cents per gallon.

DeHaan went on to say that any increase due to the tariffs likely won't hit pumps in our neck of the woods right away. But, 'we’ll likely see a lag of a couple weeks before prices begin to climb,' DeHaan noted.

Speaking of gas prices, do you remember how cheap they were when you first started driving? (What did we do with all that extra money back then?!?) Keep scrolling to take a walk down memory lane and check out the price we paid when you first got your driver's license!