Testimony by BPC President Jason Grumet to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade

“BPC believes that Congress and the administration should take further steps to lift restrictions on U.S. crude oil exports. These restrictions are outdated market barriers that, left unaddressed, will undermine domestic production and our economic recovery. While the political debate will inevitably come down assertions about price of a gallon of gasoline, this issue is fundamentally a commercial dispute between oil producers who will benefit from selling their product in a competitive global market and refiners who rely on lower domestic crude oil prices (relative to international prices) to maintain profitably.

“In general, lifting the ban will increase U.S. production. While no one can confidently predict the price impact of adding 1-2% of additional crude to the global market, the basic dynamics of supply and demand should give us all high confidence that increasing supply will ultimately lower the costs of crude and gasoline, and more importantly reduce the vulnerability of the global market to disruptions leading to price spikes. From a foreign policy and international security vantage point, erasing this protectionist policy sends a clear signal in favor of free trade and demonstrates that the United States is doing our part to strengthen global energy markets. By contributing to the pool of global spare capacity, we strengthen our leverage to restrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions and diminish the ability of others who seek to manipulate energy supplies for their own geopolitical gain.”