Fact-Checking Rep. Claudia Tenney’s (R-NY23) Letter to “The Batavian”

Fact-Check

In her letter to “The Batavian.” Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY23) wrote, “…the Biden-Harris administration and the Democratic party are trying to stifle American energy production, increasingly relying on imports from our adversaries”.  

The reality is that the U.S. has reduced reliance on energy imports from our adversaries, not increased it.

Overall Energy Imports

• The U.S. imports much less energy than it used to due to increased domestic oil and natural gas production. Most U.S. energy imports come from friendly, stable countries like Canada.
• In 2022, for example, Canada accounted for the vast majority of U.S. oil imports, with some coming from Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil. These are not “adversary” countries. The U.S. has stable diplomatic and trade relations with each of these countries. 

Russian Energy Imports

• The U.S. imported a small amount of oil and petroleum products from Russia, about 3% of U.S. crude oil imports, before the Ukraine invasion. Following the invasion, Russian oil and gas imports are banned.

OPEC Countries

• The U.S. imports some oil from OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Venezuela.
• Some OPEC countries, like Iran, are U.S. adversaries. The U.S. banned imports from Iran since the late 1970s.
• The U.S. imported significant amounts of oil from Venezuela, but since its political and economic collapse, and U.S. sanctions against the Maduro regime, Venezuelan oil imports are nearly zero.

China

• China is a key player in global energy markets, but the U.S. does not rely on China for oil or gas. It does depend on China for rare earth minerals essential for renewable energy technologies, electric vehicles, and electronics.  Still, China’s control over the supply of rare earth materials is a concern.

The U.S. has reduced, not increased energy imports from our adversaries.