For the US economy, a ban could deliver short-term relief at the pump by flooding the domestic market with excess supply.
However, energy analysts warn it could backfire.
David Fyfe, chief economist at Argus Media, notes that cutting off American supply would likely cause international prices to skyrocket.
That would push up global freight, food, and industrial costs, ultimately “feeding inflation back into the global economy”.
“At a stroke, the US’s reputation as a reliable supplier of energy to the world would be shot,” Fyfe added.
Removing more than a million barrels of daily American supply would trigger a fierce bidding war among importing nations in Latin America and Europe.
Sarah Raffoul, analytics manager at Argus Media, noted that while higher international prices would eventually curb demand, the immediate gap would severely strain trade relationships and accelerate global inflation.
