The administration of US President Donald Trump is reportedly drafting a bill that would authorize legal action against the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for “artificially raising oil and gas prices”.
The bill would be prepared by the Department of Justice which would check whether OPEC’s internal as well as external pricing arrangements violate US anti-trust laws and eventually harmed American consumers, Bloomberg quoted an unnamed official as saying.
The Senate and House have both approved versions of a bill that would authorize the Justice Department to make a case against OPEC. Neither bill has been brought up for a vote, the report added.
In January 2017, OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia agreed with Russia to impose limits on each members’ oil production. The ongoing production quotas have contributed to higher oil and gas prices that have been passed on to and hurt American consumers, Bloomberg quoted the…