A US congressman who has been advising Donald Trump on energy policy is leading a plan to investigate Opec, the oil producers’ cartel, for unfair trade practices, reports FT.
Kevin Cramer, a Republican member of the House of Representatives for the oil-producing state of North Dakota, said the US needed to examine whether the cartel was acting anti-competitively to strengthen its hold over the market, because of the importance of energy to national security.
He is one of the sponsors of a bipartisan bill to establish a commission that would investigate the actions of Opec and state-controlled national oil companies around the world, and propose possible remedies.
The move comes at a time of strains in the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia, Opec’s de facto leader, over the possible roles played by Saudi nationals in assisting the 9/11 terror attacks.
Opec has been riven by disagreements over the past couple of years and is seen by analysts as having lost its influence over the market. However, concern about the cartel has grown in the US as a result of the collapse in oil prices, which has driven more than 130 US companies into bankruptcy and cost 131,000 jobs, says FT.
One of the factors behind that collapse was Saudi Arabia’s strategy of continuing to produce at high levels above 10m barrels per day, rather than cutting output to ease the glut of oil.
The Opec bill, which is also sponsored by representatives Trent Franks, another Republican, and Collin Peterson, a Democrat, would establish a bipartisan commission to assess whether the cartel was engaged in anti-competitive behaviour, and to recommend possible policy measures involving “taxes, trade, defence, and research and development, and diplomacy, among others.”
Full Content: Financial Times
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Judge Mehta Questions Both Sides in Landmark Google Antitrust Case
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
FCC Urges Urgent Funding for Removal of Chinese Telecom Equipment from U.S. Networks
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Former Pioneer CEO Facing Potential Criminal Charges For Colluding With OPEC
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
South Korea’s Antitrust Regulator Greenlights K-Pop Powerhouse Deal
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Exxon’s Pioneer Purchase Approved, Former CEO Barred from Board
May 2, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI