The world of today has for the most part, grown into a large interdependent working unit. One country predominately producing oil can not consume that oil and conversely the country with vast land for agriculture can never utilize the land's potential without gas for its machinery. Trade then is a natural process creating synergy. The whole becomes greater than its individual parts. A reality then exists that the U.S. economy cannot enjoy a high standard of living by maintaining a self-sufficient position.
             Our economy will not expand if it does not encourage expansion through import and exports, as well as opportunities to open up to foreign investors. The challenge is to maintain a balance between imports and exports. Any country closing itself out to the opportunities in trade will disable their economy by prohibiting its ability to expand. This is especially true here in the U.S. One prime example of a traded commodity that bears great impact on our economy is oil. It is a vitally important part of any economy and is necessary for providing for a high standard of living.
             Oil serves an important purpose in the U.S. We must have oil in order to keep the millions of cars within the U.S. running. Oil is used for everything from planes to ships, which are essential for intrastate and international trade. Oil is necessary for this complex network of transportation to exist, for crops to be harvested and lights to stay on. In order for people to maintain the high standard of living that we enjoy in our western society, people must have access to an adequate amount of oil in the market. "It takes a relatively small amount of uncontrolled supply to disrupt the market "(Blair 27). By exporting some oil and importing oil, our country's prices of oil stabilize, enabling us to make the best use of this market. By perfecting very effective control systems, the government has been able to limit world outpu...