Record profits for oil firms are the “windfall of war,” the US president said
President Joe Biden speaks about gas prices and record profits for oil companies in the White House in Washington, DC, October 31, 2022. © AP / Alex Brandon
US President Joe Biden has vowed to impose new taxes to restrain the “excess profits” of American oil companies, insisting they must help to lower prices for consumers while accusing firms of reaping undue benefits from the war in Ukraine.
The president took the oil industry to task during a Monday address, speaking alongside Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Treasury head Janet Yellen. He argued that companies have seen “profits so high it’s hard to believe” since fighting erupted in Eastern Europe earlier this year, and must start acting beyond their “narrow self-interest.”
“Oil companies’ record profits today are not because they’re doing something new or innovative. Their profits are a windfall of war – the windfall from the brutal conflict that’s ravaging Ukraine and hurting tens of millions of people around the globe,” he said, adding that firms have “a responsibility to act in the interest of their consumers, their community, and their country.”
If they don’t, they’re going to pay a higher tax on their excess profits and face other restrictions. My team will work with Congress to look at these options that are available to us… It’s time for these companies to stop war profiteering.
The president went on to note the significant earnings reported this year by oil giants like Shell and Exxon, with the former company recently announcing $9.5 billion in profit for the third quarter of 2022, almost doubling what it made during the same period last year. Exxon, meanwhile, said it brought in $18.7 billion in profits the last quarter, “nearly triple what Exxon made last year and the most in its 152-year history,” Biden said. “It’s never made that much profit.”
While he did not specify exactly what the new taxes would entail, Biden said companies must “invest in America by increasing production and refining capacity” in order to lower prices for consumers. Prices at the pump have dropped from a recent peak of more than $5 per gallon in June, though the president claimed that was largely due to the White House’s decision to tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve earlier this year.
The threat to oil firms comes a little more than a week ahead of the midterm elections, where record-high inflation and surging consumer prices have become top issues in many races. The White House has reportedly been weighing options for new taxes on oil and gas firms since last summer, though has apparently yet to work out any specific legislation with lawmakers.
