IB 

Union Calendar No. 96 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2264 

[Report No. 110–160] 

To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels 

illegal. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 10, 2007 

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. CHABOT, and Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

MAY 21, 2007 

Additional sponsors: Mr. KAGEN, Mr. HILL, Mr. COHEN, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. 

ARCURI, Mr. SPACE, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, and Mr. HALL of New York 

MAY 21, 2007 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and 

exporting cartels illegal. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Oil Producing and 

3 Exporting Cartels Act of 2007 or ‘NOPEC’ ’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SHERMAN ACT. 

5 The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended 

6 by adding after section 7 the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 7A. OIL PRODUCING CARTELS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be illegal and a violation 

9 of this Act for any foreign state, or any instrumentality 

10 or agent of any foreign state, to act collectively or in com11 bination with any other foreign state, any instrumentality 

12 or agent of any other foreign state, or any other person, 

13 whether by cartel or any other association or form of co14 operation or joint action— 

15 ‘‘(1) to limit the production or distribution of 

16 oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product; 

17 ‘‘(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural 

18 gas, or any petroleum product; or 

19 ‘‘(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of 

20 trade for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product; 

21 when such action, combination, or collective action has a 

22 direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on 

23 the market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural 

24 gas, or other petroleum product in the United States. 

25 ‘‘(b) SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—A foreign state en26 gaged in conduct in violation of subsection (a) shall not 


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1 be immune under the doctrine of sovereign immunity from 

2 the jurisdiction or judgments of the courts of the United 

3 States in any action brought to enforce this section. 

4 ‘‘(c) INAPPLICABILITY OF ACT OF STATE DOC5 TRINE.—No court of the United States shall decline, 

6 based on the act of state doctrine, to make a determina7 tion on the merits in an action brought under this section. 

8 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General of the 

9 United States may bring an action to enforce this section 

10 in any district court of the United States as provided 

11 under the antitrust laws.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY. 

13 Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

16 semicolon; 

17 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and 

18 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(8) in which the action is brought under sec21 tion 7A of the Sherman Act.’’. 

22 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

23 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Oil Producing and 

24 Exporting Cartels Act of 2007’’ or ‘‘NOPEC’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SHERMAN ACT. 

2 The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended by 

3 adding after section 7 the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 7A. (a) It shall be illegal and a violation of this 

5 Act for any foreign state, or any instrumentality or agent 

6 of any foreign state, to act collectively or in combination 

7 with any other foreign state, any instrumentality or agent 

8 of any other foreign state, or any other person, whether by 

9 cartel or any other association or form of cooperation or 

10 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 the 

19 market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, 

20 or other petroleum product in the United States. 

21 ‘‘(b) A foreign state engaged in conduct in violation 

22 of subsection (a) shall not be immune under the doctrine 

23 of sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction or judgments 

24 of the courts of the United States in any action brought 

25 to enforce this section. 


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1 ‘‘(c) No court of the United States shall decline, based 

2 on the act of state doctrine, to make a determination on 

3 the merits in an action brought under this section. 

4 ‘‘(d) The Attorney General of the United States may 

5 bring an action to enforce this section in any district court 

6 of the United States as provided under the antitrust laws.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY. 

8 Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 

11 semicolon; 

12 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period and 

13 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(8) in which the action is brought under section 

16 7A of the Sherman Act.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 96 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2264 

[Report No. 110

–160] 

A BILL 

To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing 

and exporting cartels illegal. 

MAY 21, 2007 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


bajohnson on PRODPC74 with BILLS