NOPEC

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 948 To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 4, 2019 Mr. CHABOT (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. NAD- LER, and Mr. COLLINS of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 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 2019’’ or ‘‘NOPEC’’. 5 SEC. 2. SHERMAN ACT. 6 The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended 7 by adding after section 7 the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H948.IH H948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 948 IH ‘‘SEC. 7A. OIL PRODUCING CARTELS. 1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be illegal and a violation 2 of this Act for any foreign state, or any instrumentality 3 or agent of any foreign state, to act collectively or in com- 4 bination with any other foreign state, any instrumentality 5 or agent of any other foreign state, or any other person, 6 whether by cartel or any other association or form of co- 7 operation or joint action— 8 ‘‘(1) to limit the production or distribution of 9 oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product; 10 ‘‘(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural 11 gas, or any petroleum product; or 12 ‘‘(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of 13 trade for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product, 14 when such action, combination, or collective action has a 15 direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on 16 the market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural 17 gas, or other petroleum product in the United States. 18 ‘‘(b) INAPPLICABILITY OF DEFENSES.—No court of 19 the United States shall decline, based on the act of state, 20 foreign sovereign compulsion, or political question doc- 21 trines to make a determination on the merits in an action 22 brought under this section. 23 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General of the 24 United States shall have the sole authority to bring an 25 action to enforce this section. Any such action shall be 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H948.IH H948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 948 IH brought in any district court of the United States as pro- 1 vided under the antitrust laws.’’. 2 SEC. 3. NO SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY IN OIL CARTEL CASES. 3 Title 28 of the United States Code is amended— 4 (1) in section 1605(a)— 5 (A) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘or’’ after 6 the semicolon, 7 (B) in paragraph (6) by striking the period 8 and inserting ‘‘; or’’, and 9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(7) in which the action is brought under sec- 11 tion 7A of the Sherman Act.’’, and 12 (2) in section 1610(a)— 13 (A) in paragraph (7) by striking the period 14 at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and 15 (B) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(8) the judgment relates to a claim that is 17 brought under section 7A of the Sherman Act.’’. 18 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 19 If any provision of this Act (or of an amendment 20 made by this Act) is held invalid the remainder of this 21 Act (or of the amendment) shall not be affected thereby. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:51 Feb 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H948.IH H948 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS