[crpatino]

You'd need to have enough local oil to pick up the slack. For what I know, US has been a net importer for decades...

Or maybe there are enough reserves, but they are in the long game and want to buy the foreign oil first... while the taking is good.

[tracker1]

Tariffs don't need to make foreign oil go away, only be strong enough to level domestic competition a bit. A $40/barrel tariff would still leave very low oil prices for imports, but at least allow for domestic competition... it isn't about totally squeezing a market out, only leveling some unfair trade practices that would hurt consumers/citizens in the long run.