Doug Polk: Time to end U.S. ban on crude oil exports

TulsaWorld.com, Wednesday June 10, 2015

Free and fair trade and markets are the cornerstones of America’s economic success. By keeping our markets open to fair trade practices and encouraging other nations to do the same, we have built the world’s largest, most dynamic, most innovative economy.

When it comes to energy, however, the United States is out of step not only with its free market ideals, but with the rest of the world. Not a single country on earth forbids exports of crude oil -- except ours. That hurts Oklahoma, where estimates suggest up to 25 percent of all jobs are tied directly or indirectly to the energy industry.

The federal government banned oil exports from the lower 48 states in the mid-1970s. At a time when OPEC’s power was rising and domestic production was declining, the export ban was meant to improve America’s national and economic security by limiting dependence on foreign oil.

The world has changed in the past 40 years. The United States is no longer a declining energy power trying to protect its dwindling resources. In fact, today we are -– against all odds and contrary to every prediction –- the world’s largest oil and gas producer. What is the biggest obstacle to maintaining this hard-won triumph of American determination, ingenuity, and technological innovation? The oil export ban. Read full article at Tulsa World