I keep hearing over and over that the US imports all of its gasoline and raw petroleum that it used, however when you look at the numbers its the greatest exporter of oil ever. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the US to just take some that they produce and keep it to sell to its own consumers.
In: Economics
In addition to the reasons mentioned, there’s also a level of control as well.
The US imports oil, which forces certain countries to have an economic reliance on the US. This gives the US more negotiating power.
Then they export oil as well because of the excess they have. But why make more oil than needed? National security. If geopolitics go sour and they stop selling oil, the US still has enough production capacity to keep itself going. This again, removes the power other countries have over the US.
Then there’s a 3rd benefit. By controlling so much import and export of oil, they effectively give themselves power to control the oil price. If OPEC tries to pull the same shit again like they did a decade ago with oil prices, the US can slam the hammer down on them.
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