US imports: Prefer oil from Venezuela and Iran?
People in the US are moaning about the highest rate of inflation in more than 40 years. Stopping oil imports from Russia would further heat up the situation. Now the previously unimaginable is being considered.
By Sebastian Hesse, ARD Studio Washington
You currently have to pay more than four dollars for a gallon of regular gasoline at American gas stations: That is almost the highest gasoline price of all time in the USA. Accordingly, 73 percent of citizens are frustrated by President Joe Biden’s energy policy. And yet, to help besieged Ukraine, 80 percent of US drivers would dig even deeper into their pockets at the pump. That was the result of a survey by the Reuters news agency.
Eight out of ten Americans are in favor of their country stopping buying oil from Russia, which should result in a further rise in prices. “So far, the President has not made a decision,” Biden’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki recently emphasized. “The topic will continue to be discussed internally and also with our partners around the world!”
Import cheaper than domestic oil
The pressure from both parties is increasing. If only the Washington MPs had their way, the import of Russian oil would be over. “Instead of exporting energy, we’ve become an importer of Russian oil,” said Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa. The USA, which has long been the world’s largest oil producer, actually doesn’t need the imports. But they are cheaper than domestic alternatives. Even from the other end of the political spectrum there is approval for an end to the oil deals with Russia – such as Nancy Pelosi, Democratic faction leader in the House of Representatives. She, too, supports the ban on Russian oil. But how can the consequences for consumers be cushioned when American elections are said to be decided “at the pump”?
Discussions about the unthinkable
In Washington, therefore, the until recently unthinkable is being discussed: imports from Venezuela and possibly also from Iran. “In the case of Venezuela, US government officials were actually in Caracas,” said government spokeswoman Psaki, “but they didn’t just have oil imports on their list.” This also applies to a similar visit recently in Riyadh. Because imports from Saudi Arabia are also being discussed again. And the recent soundings with Iran? Yes, it was also about oil, says Psaki, but above all about not allowing Iran to become a nuclear power.
The piquant thing about it: both Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and the leadership in Tehran recently sided with Putin in the Ukraine conflict. The fact that Washington sought talks with both shows once again how threatening the Biden government considers the energy price explosion in the parliamentary election year to be If it costs 4.07 dollars, that corresponds to a liter price of around one euro. So about half of what you currently have to pay at German gas stations.
