One day after President Trump announced a barrage of tariffs on America’s trading partners, eight OPEC+ members surprised the world with an unexpectedly large increase in oil output coming in May. In combination with the announced tariffs, this production increase prompted oil prices to drop below $70 per barrel. The U.S. tariffs were steeper and more wide-ranging than analysts expected (hoped), raising the risks of a global trade war and economic slowdown or even recession. Against this backdrop, the OPEC+ decision came as a big surprise. In this week’s Tanker Opinion, we will look into the background of the original OPEC cuts, the possible reasons for yesterday’s decision and the potential implications for the oil and tanker markets.