WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2020) The Trump administration must impose economic sanctions on both Russia and Saudi Arabia for allegedly continuing to flood global oil markets and further depress international prices, Senator James Inhofe said on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the price of West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude for delivery in May fell into negative territory for the first time in history, finishing at less than per barrel.
"It remains clear that the Saudis and Russians continue to flood the global oil market in what I view as an effort to crush American oil and gas producers and capture their market share," Inhofe said in a letter to the Commerce Department. "I continue to believe the Trump administration must utilize all of its authorities, including tariffs on imported oil from Saudi Arabia and Russia, to punish this unacceptable behavior."
The US government should utilize all of its tariff authorities, including those used to solve other trade imbalances like the Chinese steel and aluminum imports to force Moscow and Riyadh to change their oil pricing policies, Inhofe wrote.
Last week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partner nations including Russia reached an agreement to cut oil output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) through June.
The Kremlin in March said that Russia and Saudi Arabia have not waged a price war in the oil markets, explaining that the market slump was due to the unfavorable situation globally.
