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Bill Says OPEC's WTO Members Breach Trade Laws - Law360 http://www.law360.com/articles/55011/bill-says-opec-s-wto-members-b...

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Bill Says OPEC's WTO Members Breach Trade

Laws
By Sara Stefanini

Law360, New York (May 2, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT) -- A team of U.S. senators has reintroduced a bill that
aims to lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization against oil-exporting countries, accusing the
countries of breaching the organization's price-manipulation rules.
The OPEC Accountability Act would direct the United States trade representative to initiate dispute
proceedings against the eight WTO members that are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries.

As members of OPEC, which sets prices and production levels for oil and natural gas, Nigeria, Qatar, the
United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Kuwait are violating the WTO's
regulations against price-fixing and trade restraint, the bill's sponsors claim.

The pact among OPEC members to limit oil exports should be deemed an illegal restriction on exports under
the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, they said.

If the trade representative's dispute proceedings against any of the WTO members are unsuccessful, the bill
would direct him to take action under U.S. trade remedy laws.

Three of the bill's sponsors, Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Carl Levin
(D-Mich.), first proposed the measure in 2005, but the measure was defeated.

They decided to push for action in the WTO again in response to soaring oil prices and growing concern
among consumers.

Efforts to revive the U.S. economy will continue to be hindered by rising gasoline prices, which have more
that quadrupled since the beginning of 2002, the bill's sponsors said.

The act's sponsors are not alone in their efforts to take legal action against OPEC members for forming an
alleged cartel.

Last year, a group of lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the Senate championed the No Oil
Producing Exporting Cartel Act of 2007.

NOPEC, which President Bush threatened to veto, would have eliminated sovereign immunity, making
foreign states subject to U.S. courts and allowing the U.S. Department of Justice to file a lawsuit against
countries believed to be colluding to fix prices.

But the White House argued in a May 2007 statement that the measure would make foreign direct investment

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Bill Says OPEC's WTO Members Breach Trade Laws - Law360 http://www.law360.com/articles/55011/bill-says-opec-s-wto-members-b...

a targeted source for damage awards and would likely trigger retaliation against the U.S., which could harm
the country’s oil supply.

“Such a result would do little to achieve a free market in international trade in petroleum, would substantially
harm other U.S. interests abroad and would strongly discourage investment in the United States economy,”
the White House said.

The administration instead touted initiatives it has introduced to diversify U.S. energy resources and promote
advanced technologies aimed at boosting the country’s energy security and becoming more eco-friendly.

Related Articles

NOPEC Not Likely To Dent OPEC Power: Opponents

Bush Says No To NOPEC
Senators Prod U.S. Trade Rep To Act Against OPEC
Senators Revive NOPEC Bill As Bush Exit Nears
House Joins Push To Crack Down On Oil Cartels

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Bill Says OPEC's WTO Members Breach Trade Laws - Law360 http://www.law360.com/articles/55011/bill-says-opec-s-wto-members-b...

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