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Posted by: zanshin,
2008-05-21 06:30 |
Open-Ended Issue
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USA should enforce antitrust laws against OPEC
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Background and Context
Second draft (2008-05-22, Friday) -- Work in progress
U.S. enforcement agencies should bring antitrust enforcement actions against foreign states that violate antitrust laws in the production and sale of oil and other petroleum products
Evaluation of this Open-Ended Issue
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Value |
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Desirability : |
Very Undesirable |
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Importance : |
High |
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Volatility : |
Medium |
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Likelihood : |
Medium |
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Confidence : |
X-High |
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Argument Tree
Vieuw in Silverlight
USA should enforce antitrust laws against OPEC
Competition in the energy sector, particularly in the petroleum industry, is vitally important to the economy and the security of the United States
>>Vigorous application of well-established antitrust laws in the oil and petroleum industry can do much to stabilize prices and ensure that consumers obtain fair and competitive prices
>>Lower prices of oil will reducie the scores of billions of dollars the United States is now sending each month to Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia
>>The less oil revenues countries like Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia receive, the less they can afford actions that go against USA interest
>>OPEC and its members could be liable for anticompetitive behavior under existing U.S. antitrust laws
>>OPEC is an anticompetitive cartel
>>OPEC nations artificially raise the price of crude oil
>>Oil is not just another resource.
>>OPEC nations artificially limit the supply of crude oil
>>OPEC refused to increase production sufficiently to keep prices stable as Saddam Hussein / Iraq occupied Kuwait.
>>OPEC's failure to increase production in the face of the Iranian revolution resulted in historically high oil prices of $81 per barrel (in 2005 dollars).
>>The anticompetitive agreements between OPEC nations harm American consumers
>>The anticompetitive agreements between OPEC nations have a negative impact on worldwide economies
>>Oil is not just another resource.
>>Oil is one of the most notoriously volataile resources
>>We don't know when, where, and how much of oil can be produced in the forseeable future
>>Oil feeds into vital sectors like: transportation, power, industrial production
>>Wars are fought over oil, not over things like microchips
>>USA is the only country in the world where subsurface minerals (like oil) are not owned by the State.
>>The NOPEC legislation is just a populist sideshow, meant to distract American consumers from pressing issues like fossil fuel depletion, the unsustainable lavishness of their lifestyles, and the humiliating reality that the USA will have to start working with other countries of the world.
>>Application of U.S. antitrust laws to OPEC's decision to reduce output is problematic
>>Sovereign nations typically enjoy several jurisdictional and substantive defenses to the antitrust laws that are not available to domestic or foreign private companies
>>An independent sovereign is equal in sovereignty to all other states (foreign sovereign immunity doctrine). Thus, the courts of one nation generally have no jurisdiction to entertain suits against another nation.
>>A United States' court will not adjudicate a politically sensitive dispute which would require the court to judge the legality of the sovereign act of a foreign state. (act of state doctrine)
>>Targeting OPEC investment in the United States as a source for damage awards would likely spur retaliatory action against American interests in those countries
>>Targeting OPEC investment in the United States as a source for damage awards would likely lead to a reduction in oil available to U.S. refiners
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References
Work in Progress
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