How Should Policymakers Respond to Growing US Oil Import Dependence?
Ian Parry and Joel Darmstadter The United States currently consumes almost 20 million barrels of oil a day, more than half of which is imported. And the share of imports in US oil consumption is projected to increase steadily over the next twenty years to around 70%. This trend raises concerns about US dependency on a world oil market, increasingly dominated by supplies from the Persian Gulf, where around two-thirds of the world’s known oil reserves are located. Fears that politically unstable Middle Eastern countries have the United States by the jugular have led to many calls for reducing US oil dependence. Environmentalists and their Congressional allies have tended to emphasize energy conservation measures, such as higher fuel economy standards for new passenger vehicles and higher energy taxes, while the Bush Administration has pushed for tax and regulatory relief for US energy producers and the opening up of new areas for drilling, such as the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. Howe
