Dow Jones Newswires - US Sens Propose Anti-OPEC Bill That Would Force Trade Talks

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Dow Jones Newswires - US Sens Propose Anti-OPEC Bill That Would Force Trade Talks

By: Ian Talley
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

A handful of U.S. Senators on Monday proposed a bill that threatens a trade dispute with members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, if the group doesn't stop "its anti-competitive practices and illegal export quotas on oil."

The bill is the latest salvo in a series of Capitol Hill attacks on OPEC, fueled by constituent anger and politicians' frustration over high oil and gasoline prices.

"While OPEC and the oil companies have seen record profits, American families are paying record gas prices at the pump," Senator Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said. "The illegal actions of OPEC nations have gone on for too long, and it is time to stand up to this cartel and protect the interests of the American people."

The bill would require the U.S. Trade Representative to initiate talks with countries that were members of the World Trade Organization and OPEC. If negotiations failed, the U.S. would request the WTO convene a dispute settlement panel to judge the case.

If the case were decided in the U.S.'s favor, OPEC would be required to cease its illegal operations or the U.S. would be able to impose trade remedies, Lautenberg's office said.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the bill would gain traction in the Senate - despite the high prices and the potential political points that could be scored by supporting such a measure - or whether it would be able to force the USTR to act.

A spokesman for the USTR wouldn't immediately comment.

Five Democratic Senators, including Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., co-sponsored the legislation.

OPEC is made up of 13 of the world's largest oil-producing nations, eight of which are also WTO members, including Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar, Nigeria and Indonesia. Iraq, Iran, Libya and Algeria are seeking admission into the WTO.

Also in April, senators said they would push two other anti-OPEC bills - one requiring the Justice Department to file an anti-competition case against the cartel and another that threatens to void any planned arms deals with several of the OPEC countries.

Monday, crude contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit a record high over $120 a barrel, and the national average retail price for gasoline is over $3.60 a gallon, according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 stations nationwide released Monday.

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