U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to make America independent from OPEC isn’t a new refrain in Washington. His “America First Energy Plan” posted on the White House website Friday doesn’t just echo his own campaign pledges but also President George W. Bush’s vow to cut imports from the Middle East when he famously said the nation was “addicted to oil.” Shipments from OPEC rose 10 percent during Bush’s time in office. It’s not an easy task. It would mean replacing about 3 million barrels a day of imports. That’s about three times as much as East Coast refineries consume. Saudi Arabia and Venezuela lead the pack of OPEC suppliers to the U.S. They account for more than half of U.S. imports from the 13-nation group. Bush said he would put the country on course to reduce oil imports from the Middle East by more than 75 percent by 2025. […]

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