Key Findings
The advent of the Trump Administration has marked a dramatic reversal of previous US energy policy, including on regulation, clean energy, and US commitments under the Paris Agreement.
US energy abundance could render America’s need for energy diplomacy obsolete, paving the way for US disengagement in the world.
Executive Summary
The issue opens with four articles analysing in detail the Trump Administration’s rallying around ‘energy dominance’ as a key policy objective. Sarah Ladislaw argues that the use of slogans in US energy policy is not uncommon, particularly to galvanize support for policies, regulations, and investments that might otherwise be difficult to achieve on a purely commercial basis. The pursuit of energy dominance involves three elements:
- producing more energy to lower the input cost to the economy,
- removing regulations on the sector to increase production opportunities, and
- pursuing energy trading opportunities with other countries
The author argues that the administration has a mixed record on all three. First, the production of energy resources is a process over which the federal government has limited control, with market forces proving extremely important factors in determining that outcome. Second, efforts to roll back regulations using administrative procedures will be a long, litigious, and uncertain operation, with pushback from the private sector which is arguing that stable regulation, rather than too much or too little, is needed to boost investment. And third, the emphasis on energy exports through bilateral transactions may well be undermined by the administration’s approach to trade.
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