EnergyFactor By ExxonMobil | Pespectives has a new home

Has it been five years already?

On his Carpe Diem blog, economist Mark Perry makes note of a looming deadline that should prove uncomfortable for the Obama administration. He points out (and as I have written about before as well) that the president pledged in 2010 to double U.S. exports within five years.

Well, we’re just a few months short of that five-year mark. As Perry observes, we’re not anywhere close to hitting the target:

In the four-and-a-half years since Obama made his promise to double US exports and create two million new jobs, US exports have only increased by a little more than one-third (38%) in nominal terms and by only 26% in inflation-adjusted dollars based on international trade data released today by the BEA for the month of July.

Despite this disappointing news, there has been one unqualified triumph when it comes to U.S. trade during that period: exports of petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. These have more than doubled – rising 127 percent – since President Obama made his pledge to double exports.

Petroleum_ExportChart_09-2014Imagine how much further along the U.S. would be in fulfilling the president’s vision if the administration took steps to remove the government’s strictures on exports of unrefined crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Like exports of LNG, crude exports would strengthen the domestic economy and benefit American consumers. The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank made a strong case for that position this summer.

The Washington Post meanwhile called the ban on exports of crude oil “incoherent policy, particularly when removing it would encourage an industry that is transforming the fortunes of large swaths of the nation.”

According to the Post, crude oil exports would be “an unambiguous win for the country.”

We may not get to doubling U.S. exports by 2015, as the president promised hopefully in 2010. But we can take steps to grow American exports significantly in the years ahead by liberalizing trade in all energy products, not just ones that have been processed in a refinery. That would create American jobs and spur much needed economic growth. All it requires is resolve in Washington.


No Comments

Already have a username? Log in to comment. First-time commenting? Sign up to create your username. It's easy, and we won't share your information.

  • Worth a deeper look...