ALEXANDRIA, VA -- Last week, opponents of liquid natural gas (LNG) launched a coalition misleadingly named “America’s Energy Advantage” in an attempt to restrict American companies’ ability to freely export LNG abroad.  Stated simply, this group seeks to limit export of American LNG to reduce costs for their own members.  The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) objects to this example of bald crony capitalism, a misguided protectionist effort that is an affront to free market principles.

“While turning their back on our country’s needs, this new group ignores fundamental economics for the sake of its own collective bottom line," said Timothy Lee, CFIF's Vice Presdent of Legal and Public Affairs.  "Why should the federal government be in the business of telling domestic energy producers what they can and cannot sell to willing buyers?  If federal bureaucrats artificially block exports, the American economy will never be able to realize the true potential of the ongoing shale gas boom,” Lee said. 

Recent studies, such as those from Deloitte, the Department of Energy and even the left-leaning Brookings Institute, have established widespread economic benefits from allowing LNG exports.  CFIF believes that every individual has the right to the benefits of a functioning, free-market economy, and the substantive economic benefits merely affirm that freedom.

“The United States has been handed a golden opportunity to become a dominant figure in the global energy market,” Lee continued.  “These companies’ effort to block exports encroach upon our economic freedoms and threaten economic harm.  That has to stop,” Lee concluded.

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