Global trade - autos; oil

This morning's trivia surrounding the notion of free markets and global trade... I was going to say the beginning of the end for the US auto industry was the oil embargo in the 70's. The acronym OPEC comes to mind, but guess what? It wasn't OPEC :-)

"The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, with the signing of an agreement in September 1960 by five countries namely Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. They were to become the Founder Members of the Organization."  OPEC

How about... OAPEC?
"The 1973 oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations perceived as supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The initial nations targeted were Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States with the embargo also later extended to Portugal, Rhodesia and South Africa. By the end of the embargo in March 1974, the price of oil had risen nearly 400%, from US$3 per barrel to nearly $12 globally; US prices were significantly higher."
Wikipedia

And just for the record:  (OAPEC*) "Member countries include Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. (Egypt’s membership was suspended in 1979, but it was readmitted in 1989. Tunisia ceased to be a member in 1987.)"
Britannica

Here's a nice graph, with the results of the oil embargo being the blip in the middle.  Production in the US has risen substantially with the discovery of the Williston Basin, but the US is still not producing as much as it consumes.  And large vehicles are still as popular as ever.

*"Iraq initially declined to join, preferring to work under the umbrella of the Arab League, considering OAPEC too conservative. Equally the three founders considered Iraq too radical to be desirable as a member.  However, by early 1972, the criterion for admission had changed to oil being a significant source of revenue (rather than the principal source) of a prospective member nation; and Algeria, Iraq, Syria and Egypt had been admitted. Consequently, OAPEC became a much more activist organization, contrary to the original intention."    Wikipedia