ECAT Head Presses DoE to OK LNG Exports
The Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT) "has serious reservations about reports suggesting that some in the business community may favor the obstruction of approvals to export liquefied natural-gas resources, or LNG," said President Calman Cohen in a statement. He said the U.S. has a legal process for approving the export of LNG to ensure that such exports are in the public interest, and competition in energy markets promotes efficiency, "which benefit producers and consumers alike." In contrast, artificial trade barriers create economic distortions that "would have adverse consequences for the U.S. economy," Cohen said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
"U.S. LNG reserves are reportedly vast, and the development of these resources can play an important role in expanding trade through growing exports, as well as in sustaining and growing the jobs to support those exports," Cohen said, urging the Department of Energy to "weigh fully these potential benefits as it evaluates pending applications for authorization to export LNG."
ECAT is a 45-year-old organization of the heads of leading U.S. international businesses with worldwide sales exceeding $3 trillion. It aims to expand international trade and investment.