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Congress sees unprecedented opportunity to confront OPEC

For the first time since OPEC’s formation, both the White House and Congress appear to be on the same page when it comes to suing the oil cartel for violating the US antitrust law.
The logo of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen outside their headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 7, 2018.   REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC1522599B90

Long a political punching bag, the OPEC oil cartel could soon find itself in the unenviable position of fending off US antitrust lawsuits — thanks to an unprecedented convergence of views between the White House and Congress.

Congress has attempted to pass the bipartisan No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act — nicknamed NOPEC — since 2000, only to have its efforts repeatedly stymied by the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.

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