Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTTsvetana ParaskovaFri, September 4, 2026 at 1:00 AM GMT+2 5 min readU.S. President Donald Trump told oil producers and refiners that he wants lower gasoline prices, immediately, at a meeting at the White House this week.As gasoline prices remain above $4 per gallon on average across the United States and drivers are heading for the most expensive Labor Day weekend gas prices on record, President Trump urged executives from Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, and PBF Energy, among others, to raise refining capacity to increase fuel availability.The problem for the U.S. Administration two months ahead of the mid-term elections is that American refiners cannot raise output in the short term. They have been running at full capacity for the entire summer, as the U.S.-Iran war has crippled crude and fuel supply out of the Middle East and depleted global inventories after many governments, including the U.S., tapped strategic resources to ease the worst supply disruption in the history of oil markets.Refiners do not have an immediate solution to the high prices at the pump—except, of course, a major de-escalation and a lasting deal with Iran. But none of the significant levers to lower U.S. fuel prices are in the hands of the U.S. refiners.No Easy FixAt the White House meeting, the executives reportedly discussed efforts to boost existing capacity and, most of all, the Renewable Fuel Standard. Some refiners criticized the blending targets as unattainable, which are driving up gasoline costs, sources with knowledge of the closed-door meeting told Bloomberg. Moreover, U.S. refiners are not even entertaining the idea of building new refineries to ease potential similar supply crunches in the long term.