Oil producers all over the world are experiencing hard times. For several years crude prices have been mounting steadily, but then they started to fall at the same pace. Major oil companies shut down their oil exploration projects and reduce investments trying to trim losses incurred due to the price slump.

Obviously, oil producers expected some support from the government. In the United States, however, the presidential administration proposed imposing a new tax on oil companies. US President Barack Obama presented a $10 tax on every barrel produced. With the current WTI price, it accounts for around 30 percent of the selling price. The White House explained that a tax would help raise funding to create a more sustainable transportation system. The initiative is ambitious and rather expensive. The president came up with a plan for building a 21st Century Clean Transportation System, which intends to upgrade the whole US transportation system in the short run. For example, the plan aims to raise investment in transportation infrastructure for electric cars, high-speed rail, and autonomous vehicles.

In addition, Barack Obama pointed out that at the moment the US transportation system is heavily dependent on oil. Administration officials offer to reduce this dependence by increasing American investments in clean transportation infrastructure by roughly 50 percent.