II Calendar No. 542 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 977 To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2021 Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. LEE, and Mr. LEAHY) in- troduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary OCTOBER 18, 2022 Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of October 14, 2022, by Mr. DURBIN, without amendment A BILL To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Oil Producing and 4 Exporting Cartels Act of 2021’’ or ‘‘NOPEC’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S977.RS S977 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 977 RS SEC. 2. SHERMAN ACT. 1 The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended 2 by adding after section 7 the following: 3 ‘‘SEC. 7A. OIL PRODUCING CARTELS. 4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be illegal and a violation 5 of this Act for any foreign state, or any instrumentality 6 or agent of any foreign state, to act collectively or in com- 7 bination with any other foreign state, any instrumentality 8 or agent of any other foreign state, or any other person, 9 whether by cartel or any other association or form of co- 10 operation or joint action— 11 ‘‘(1) to limit the production or distribution of 12 oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product; 13 ‘‘(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural 14 gas, or any petroleum product; or 15 ‘‘(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of 16 trade for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product, 17 when such action, combination, or collective action has a 18 direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on 19 the market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural 20 gas, or other petroleum product in the United States. 21 ‘‘(b) INAPPLICABILITY OF DEFENSES.—No court of 22 the United States shall decline, based on the act of state, 23 foreign sovereign compulsion, or political question doctrine 24 to make a determination on the merits in an action 25 brought under this section. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S977.RS S977 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 977 RS ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General of the 1 United States shall have the sole authority to bring an 2 action to enforce this section. Any such action shall be 3 brought in any district court of the United States as pro- 4 vided under the antitrust laws.’’. 5 SEC. 3. NO SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY IN OIL CARTEL CASES. 6 Title 28, United States Code, is amended— 7 (1) in section 1605(a)— 8 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘or’’ 9 after the semicolon; 10 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe- 11 riod and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 12 (C) by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(7) in which the action is brought under sec- 14 tion 7A of the Sherman Act.’’; and 15 (2) in section 1610(a)— 16 (A) in paragraph (7) by striking the period 17 at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(8) the judgment relates to a claim that is 20 brought under section 7A of the Sherman Act.’’. 21 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 22 If any provision of this Act (or of an amendment 23 made by this Act) is held invalid the remainder of this 24 Act (or of the amendment) shall not be affected thereby. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S977.RS S977 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 542 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 977 A BILL To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. OCTOBER 18, 2022 Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of October 14, 2022, without amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:07 Oct 18, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S977.RS S977 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS