[Pity that we don’t produce our own oil anymore, and instead are totally dependent on OPEC for our energy needs.
Oh wait... ]
We could produce all 20m barrels we use daily and still be hurt by foreign price hikes. As it is, we’re producing 10m bpd. That’s 10m bpd we need to import, the price of which is set for the most part by OPEC, which includes under its umbrella 73% of the world’s proven oil reserves. That’s why Trump complained about high oil prices. High input prices are detrimental to the economy. Now, if we produced 40m bpd, used 20m and exported 20m, we’d be in clover every time oil prices spiked. But that’s not our situation.