Trump Tweets, Saudis Scramble: This is How the United States Leads OPEC



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The United States is not a member of OPEC, a cartel anathema to liberal capitalism of the world's largest economy. Still, presidents have long lobbied its main producer, Saudi Arabia, for it to adjust oil production policies, generally to drive down gasoline prices. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, gave up the quiet leverage to protest loudly, tweeting last month: "Oil prices are too high. The OPEC is there again. Not good! "

What Trump Wants from OPEC?"

Gasoline Prices Decline as Americans Head to the Summer Driving Season. at the pump in the United States rose 13% this year, surpassing 3 dollars a gallon in April for the first time since 2014. He has tweeted at least 63 times on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries since 2011 , claiming to tear us "and that the crude should not cost more than $ 25 a barrel. The American tanker closed Friday at 74.15 dollars a barrel.

His most recent coup took place on Saturday when Trump said King Salman of Saudi Arabia agreed to increase his production by 2 million barrels a day to offset the decline in production in Venezuela. and potential disruptions in Iranian supplies. While the White House later gave up an agreement, the tweet came after oil and gasoline prices exploded last week, even after Saudi Arabia convinced the government that it was not the case. OPEC potentially add 1 million barrels a day to the market. Have any other US presidents tried to influence OPEC?

The OPEC has been a punch for American politicians since the 1970s, when the group had much more power over oil prices than it did. aujourd & # 39; hui. Republican presidents, especially George H.W. Bush and his son have used diplomatic channels with Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter, which pumps nearly a third of OPEC production. Before Trump's public reprimand, Bill Richardson, the energy secretary during Bill Clinton's second administration, telephoned the Saudi oil minister in the middle of an OPEC meeting in 2000 demanding an increase in production, enraging other cartel members and exacerbating a schism between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Read: The OPEC faces a bigger problem in Washington than Trump Tweets

How Trump is different?

President Trump has been a vocal critic of OPEC for decades. books then via Twitter . He went further than the other presidents in commenting on the prices and levels of oil production, and pondered "how much money the average American would save if we broke the OPEC cartel. . " This balance sheet is important because US lawmakers have resurrected "NOPEC", which could subject the group to Sherman's antitrust law, was used more than a century ago to break John Rockefeller's oil empire. . bill despite several attempts since 2000.

Can Saudi Arabia Compensate for OPEC's Losses?

Many OPEC members are struggling to maintain their production. The Trump administration, in early May, said it would renew US sanctions against Iran and that it was seeking to reduce purchases from other foreign buyers of Iranian oil . an unused capacity of about 2 million barrels, which would be maximized if the kingdom were to offset the losses of supply. The marketing of all these barrels could take up to a year and make the OPEC deals useless.

Read: The increase in production could harm the oil economy of Saudi Arabia

How do OPEC members react to the intervention of Trump? So far, public reactions have been weak, although some producers may be upset by Trump's request that would actually alter the OPEC decision. Iran's oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, said any increase in production beyond the limits agreed by OPEC would "violate" the agreement, according to a letter he sent to the president of Iran. OPEC, Suhail Al Mazrouei. The OPEC should reject the US call for an increase in production that is "politically motivated against Iran," he said

– with the United States. Help from Wael Mahdi, Grant Smith and Javier Blas

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