RAMIFICATIONS OF U.S. TRADE AND NATIONAL SECURITY LAWS FOR PETROLEUM IMPORTS

The potential impact that US trade laws could have on increasing imports of crude oil, gasoline, and downstream chemical products is explored. Four major US import relief provisions and their relevance to imported petroleum supplies are reviewed: antidumping legislation, countervailing duty laws, and Sections 201 and 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. Amendments to these provisions included in the Omnibus Trade & Competitiveness Act of 1988 are also covered, as is Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which permits imposition of import barriers for national security reasons.