Right now, members of Congress are debating a series of taxes as part of the multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation package that could make the crude oil that runs through U.S. refineries more expensive.
It’s no secret that infrastructure is the backbone of this nation, from roads to bridges to airports and more – America relies on its infrastructure to keep people and our economy moving.
COVID-19 upended energy markets. Demand disappeared and producers scaled back. Now that economies are reopening, and the demand for goods and services is rebounding, the demand for energy all along the supply chain is increasing, driving up not only the cost of the feedstocks and fuels refineries and petrochemical manufacturers use, but also the cost of the energy used at every step of the supply chain.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – "Federal policy is discouraging supply by shutting down pipelines, putting future production off limits, talking down the future of the petroleum business, and imposing expensive requirements on refineries, chief among them a burdensome Renewable Fuel Standard. The Administration is blaming others when it ought to take a sober look at its own energy policy."
Limiting California’s access to the exact types of crude oil its facilities need will only increase prices for the state’s consumers and travelers. Drivers are already dealing with gasoline prices in excess of $5 per gallon and the highest fuel taxes of the 50 states. Confining energy producers and consumers to a smaller pool of crude oil will make a very sensitive price environment that much worse.
As the 2016 presidential election cycle heats up, a lot of the candidates are talking about how to revitalize the middle-class. Such a focus is welcome and overdue.
A 15-year rise in U.S. exports of refined products continued in 2019 with our nation exporting more than ever, underscoring the importance of these products to fueling a growing world.
The renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) provides an important opportunity to preserve and strengthen NAFTA’s investor protections, specifically the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism.