'NOPEC'

"This could be an emotionally satisfying way to lash out at $3-a-gallon gasoline, but it's not energy policy." Froma Harrop – the Providence Journal

Americans who curse the price of gasoline on the station forecourt can take solace in the thought that many in Congress agree.

A bill that would allow the Department of Justice to sue members of the OPEC in US federal courts is on the Senate's legislative calendar for a vote.  The 'No Oil Producing and Exporting Act of 2007' -- or NOPEC -- is unlikely to progress, but the grandstanding reflects popular resentment towards cartels such as OPEC and highlights the United States' cultural propensity to solve problems through litigation.

The bill only refers to 'foreign' states that attempt to set the price of any petroleum product or limit its production and distribution; domestic authorities would be exempt from this legislation. It does not authorise a private cause of action, but gives the Department of Justice authority to sue. So, any lawsuit would be sovereign versus sovereign.

Yet a lawsuit would be as counterintuitive as it is unlikely. OPEC members provide approximately 40% of the oil in the United States, therefore it may be unwise in the extreme to antagonise them by filing lawsuits in US courts.  If Washington sues OPEC, its members may retaliate by cutting back on oil production, a corollary of which will be higher gas prices.

There have been calls for Congress to seek ways of reducing US dependence on OPEC, either through alternative energy sources, or alternative sources of oil.  Yet, President George Bush will almost certainly threaten a veto if the bill gathers momentum -- for if there's one thing Americans need less than pricey gas, it is an increase in international tensions.