If this keeps going for two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, five weeks, what do you think happens to the U.S. economy? We’re already seeing countries that struggle to afford high prices, in Southeast Asia — Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia. And so today, the things we use oil for, there’s not a huge number of substitutes in the near term. Well, it depends how high oil prices go, of course. Because I think we think about this from the American perspective, where it would cause economic hardship and pain.

Source: International New York Times March 24, 2026 21:56 UTC