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U.S official calls for antitrust probe into Exxon, OPEC and others
Kaieteur News – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler and nine colleagues on the Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, on Tuesday sent a letter to the Department of Justice, urging the agency to immediately open an investigation into potential antitrust conspiracies among U.S. oil producers ExxonMobil and Chevron, OPEC and others.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (Photo: Francis Chung/POLITICO)
Antitrust is the body of law that controls the creation, use and abuse of market power. The letter states, “As members of the House committee charged with oversight of the nation’s antitrust laws, we write to express our alarm about price fixing in the U.S. oil industry. Major oil producers appear to be colluding with each other and foreign cartels to keep prices high, padding their profits at the expense of American consumers.” As such, they urge the Attorney General Merrick Garland, to use the full authority of the Department of Justice to investigate and, where necessary, prosecute this anticompetitive conduct.
The members said in their letter that gas prices today average US$3.60 per gallon, up from last year. It was stated that while Americans are grappling with the rising cost of living, the price at the pump plays a major role.
Darren Woods, Exxon Corp.
The members said, “In a single month last year, rising gas prices made up more than half of the overall increase in the rate of inflation. Moreover, by raising production and transportation costs, higher oil prices raise prices across the economy. For the average American, high oil prices can make the difference in whether they can afford to take a family trip by car or how far their dollar will stretch at the grocery store.”
The members noted that last year, Exxon and Chevron both earned their biggest annual profits in a decade. They added, “But apparently, instead of passing those profits through to consumers in the form of cheaper products, the oil giants have been lining their own pockets while conspiring to keep prices high.”
Michael Wirth, Chevron Corp.(Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Image)
To determine whether there are more widespread price-fixing conspiracies outside of the one uncovered recently by the Federal Trade Commission in its recent review of Exxon Mobil Corp.’s acquisition of oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources, the members urge the DOJ to investigate rigorously to uncover and punish wrongdoing.
The members note in their letter, “If U.S. oil companies are colluding with each other and foreign cartels to manipulate global oil markets and harm American consumers who then pay more at the pump, Congress and the American people deserve to know.”
Moreover, the Department of Justice has until June 18th to respond to the members’ questions regarding the efficacy of our nation’s antitrust laws and sufficiency of resources to combat these harms and how the Department is coordinating with the FTC.
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