One of the enduring weaknesses of the modern US economy is the lack of redundancy. As long as most of the world is operating normally and there are no serious geopolitical disruptions, America's "just in time" system works fine. But, throw a monkey-wrench into distribution, global exports, freight systems, shipping or elements of production and cracks quickly form in the armor.
This does not mean that the US economy can't adapt; the pandemic shutdowns were horrifically pointless but they did prove that the system has the ability to function despite deep deficiencies. However, when it comes to the management of vital resources, such as energy resources, it's clear that some changes need to be made in the near term.
Before the war in Iran a large portion of the public was oblivious to the fact that the US is the largest exporter of oil in the world, and of the foreign oil supplies we do receive, only 8% come from Gulf nation producers. A mere 7% of those supplies travel through the Strait of Hormuz. In other words, the US doesn't rely on the Gulf for oil. With the new Venezuelan deal and oil flows from the gulf back to 98% of pre-conflict levels, the war is even less of a concern when it comes to US energy.
The problem is, there is a global oil refinery capacity shortage, and the US is not adapting as it should.
Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian refineries have recently forced the Kremlin to cut off all diesel exports to other coun
