Bill Allowing US to Sue OPEC Moves Forward

Bill Allowing US to Sue OPEC Moves Forward
Legislation that would allow the US government to sue OPEC for inflating oil prices cleared a key hurdle in the new session of Congress.

(Bloomberg) -- Legislation that would allow the U.S. government to sue OPEC for inflating oil prices cleared a key hurdle in the new session of Congress.

The House Judiciary Committee, now led by Democrats, advanced the “No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act" Thursday. That sets the bipartisan "NOPEC" bill, which would subject the cartel to possible antitrust action by the Department of Justice, up for a possible House vote. A similar bill targeting OPEC was introduced in the Senate on Thursday.

OPEC’s members “deliberately collude to limit crude oil production as a means of fixing prices, unfairly driving up the price of crude oil," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said before voting in favor of the legislation. The law would amend the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the law used more than a century ago to break up the oil empire of John Rockefeller.

Various iterations of the bill have been proposed in the past, and former presidents have threatened to use their veto power to scupper the legislation. But President Donald Trump could be more amenable, given his frequent twitter attacks accusing the group of keeping oil prices artificially high.

“I’m not going to predict it will get passed and enacted into law, but I think its prospects are pretty good,” said Seth Bloom, former general counsel of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee. “OPEC doesn’t have too many friends right now and the legislation may likely have a friend in the White House given Trump has written favorably about it in the past."

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim told members of a House subcommittee in December the administration “continues to study” the legislation.

“If OPEC members conducted the same manipulation in the United States that they practice in Vienna, they could be prosecuted,” said Robbie Diamond, who heads up Securing America’s Future Energy. “Their actions have a profound impact on U.S. consumers, businesses and our military, and our government can no longer allow that.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Cunningham in Washington at scunningha10@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Marino at dmarino4@bloomberg.net Catherine Traywick, Carlos Caminada.



WHAT DO YOU THINK?


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jbh  |  February 20, 2019
Totally agree with Jb
Jb  |  February 12, 2019
This is as dumb as illegal invaders having constitutional rights.
Thomas  |  February 11, 2019
Opec!!! Still alive? Pirate ages are gone, now pay back time..
Russell Hopley  |  February 09, 2019
I strongly oppose this legislation as unnecessary. What sets the price of oil is 'supply and demand', and seasonal factors, plus differences in crude quality, not OPEC. Sure everyone wants low prices, but to artificially set them is foolish and wouldn't work in reality. The market demand and supply of crude oil plus seasonal weather changes sets the price for oil and gas This isn't a good idea and I am certain it won't work! I worked in the oil and gas industry both in the U. S. Gulf of Mexico and in Libya and Indonesia for 44 years and it is dynamic and thriving industry which I thoroughly enjoyed and an idea like this won't be effective. This idea isn't practical, won't work and isn't required.
Shamim Haider  |  February 08, 2019
OPEC should be abolished ASAP, it has only served as a MAFIA CARTEL to blackmail rest of the world as and whenever they please, OPEC needs to reign in it is acting like a loose cannon.
Duane Graham  |  February 08, 2019
How can the US attempt to sue OPEC when our own president has asked members of OPEC to decrease oil production to help the price. OPEC has been controlling production in order to regulate prices for as long as they have existed. The US would look stupid to try suing OPEC.


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