Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Strait of Hormuz will be "worthless" to the oil industry within two years, arguing that pipelines across land will bypass the waterway. Speaking to Fox Business's Larry Kudlow on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance ministers' summit in North Carolina, Bessent said the strait is not a choke point for the U.S., which imported roughly 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Persian Gulf countries through it in 2024, equal to 7% of total U.S. crude oil. EIA data showed those imports were at their lowest level in nearly 40 years as domestic production and Canadian imports increased. The route remains critical globally: the IEA said nearly 34% of the world's crude oil passed through it in 2025, with most exports going to Asia. Shipping restrictions imposed by the Iranian military during more than six months of war have slowed traffic, helping push Brent crude above $95 a barrel on Wednesday from $72.48 before the U.S. and Israel launched the war in late February. The U.S. national average for regular gasoline reached $4.09 a gallon on Tuesday, up from $2.98 two days before the conflict began. Saudi Arabia and the UAE already operate pipelines that bypass the strait, while Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Turkey have agreements to build additional oil pipelines. Those projects could take multiple years, suggesting the waterway will remain important to global oil trade. The U.S. military has guided tankers through a southern channel near Oman and enforced a monthslong blockade of Iranian ports as part of the Trump administration's campaign to pressure Iran. The Treasury Department last week sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels that enable the Iranian government. Bessent said countries that maintain financial ties with Iran risk losing access to the U.S. dollar system and said the administration has seen strong foreign support for its campaign.