Consumers’ Cartel No Panacea to Resource Nationalism

With the price of oil crossing $110 a barrel, the oil-importing countries’ concerns have been mounting. Not surprisingly, the issue of whether the time is now ripe for energy consuming countries to take measures to counter the producers’ growing clout is being discussed, including the formation of a consumers’ cartel, to force exporters to bring down prices. This paper looks at attempts by consumers to counter the growing clout of the producers, whether such attempts will succeed or whether they will exacerbate the divisive trends that have recently surfaced in the international energy market.