Oil Imports

Archive Report

Agitation for Restriction of Oil Imports

Pressure Congress to Curb Inflow of Foreign Oil

Shipment into the United States of a rapidly rising volume of petroleum from Latin America and the Middle East has brought vigorous demands for import restrictions from domestic independent oil producers and the bituminous coal industry. Imports of foreign oil, which in the prewar years 1935–39 averaged only 153,000 barrels a day, increased from 311,000 barrels daily in 1945 to 641,000 barrels daily in 1949 and climbed to 800,000 barrels daily in the first quarter of 1950. At the latter rate, the imported petroleum was supplying about 13 per cent of the oil market in the United States as against less than 4.5 per cent before the war.

Pressure for action to curb ...

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