WASHINGTON -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch is pushing a novel approach to stop OPEC from raising oil and gasoline prices: prosecute it as a price-fixing monopoly.
He wrote to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky this week urging him to consider such action against the cartel of foreign oil-producing nations."A strong case can be made that where foreign states act in a commercial capacity and engage in anti-competitive behavior, and such behavior affects U.S. consumers, then they should be subject to our antitrust laws," Hatch wrote.
Hatch, R-Utah, noted that he asked Pitofsky in a recent hearing to look into that possibility, and he said he would. Hatch said he would like an answer to what he found soon.
"I would particularly appreciate hearing from you on whether it would be appropriate for the administration to use our current antitrust laws to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute OPEC for international price-fixing," Hatch wrote.
"It is my strong recommendation that you expedite your review and take appropriate action, if any, as soon as possible," he added.
He also noted the obvious, that "the recent substantial increases in gasoline prices have been attributed largely to the production cuts by oil producers in OPEC member countries."
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced earlier this week that most OPEC nations agreed to increase production soon, but industry analysts said that may not be enough to avoid price spikes to $2 a gallon for gasoline in some areas this summer.
Many members of Congress are also pushing for at least a temporary repeal of some gasoline taxes to help keep prices down and prevent inflation that could hurt the economy.