Comments on: Markey’s Ban on Petroleum Exports Not Legal under Trade Treaties (Updated Feb. 15, 2012)

By: Sen. Wyden’s Anti-Keystone Amendment Goes Down in Flames

Sen. Wyden’s Anti-Keystone Amendment Goes Down in Flames — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:52:52 +0000

[...] in both the House and Senate for expeditious approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline.As this blog has argued previously, proposals like Wyden’s to ban exports of U.S. petroleum products would violate U.S. treaty [...]

By: Will Markey’s Keystone Export Ban Come Back to Bite Him?

Will Markey’s Keystone Export Ban Come Back to Bite Him? — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:40:39 +0000

[...] Keystone Export Ban Come Back to Bite Him?Obama’s Budget Renews “Sharing is Caring” EconomicsMarkey’s Ban on Petroleum Exports Not Legal under Trade Treaties (Updated Feb. 15, 2012)Hell, that’s just one month’s work for Sierra Club…Update on Job Losses, [...]

By: Marlo Lewis

Marlo Lewis — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:14:07 +0000

Scott, thank you for this information. It means that Markey’s proposal — which is a targeted export ban — would violate GATT even if it were expanded so as not violate the national treatment principle.

By: Scott Lincicome

Scott Lincicome — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:28:41 +0000

“Only if Congress were to ban all petroleum product exports, including those made from oil produced in the USA, would Markey’s amendment not flout U.S. treaty obligations.”

Actually, no, that export ban would violate GATT Article XI (http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/gatt47_01_e.htm#articleXI), which prohibits “prohibitions or restrictions other than duties, taxes or other charges, whether made effective through quotas, import or export licences or other measures…” on imports or exports. The US could theoretically impose a really high export duty to discourage exportation, but it could not impose an outright ban without running afoul of Article XI. That’s not what Markey’s amendment does, of course.

I seriously doubt, however, that Markey has considered – or cares about – any of this. Political hacks rarely do.