Democrats Backpedal as China Readies $15.1 Billion Canadian Oil Deal

When President Barack Obama blocked the Keystone Pipeline, Republicans said the move would encourage Canada to pursue oil deals with China instead of the United States and cede a massive chunk of North American oil assets to the communist nation. 

Now, with China’s state-run oil company CNOOC poised to cut a $15.1 billion deal–the largest ever foreign acquisition for a Chinese company–with Canadian oil company Nexen, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are in full backpedal mode.

In a draft letter to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Sen. Schumer writes:

I respectfully urge you, in your capacity as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to withhold approval of this transaction to ensure U.S. companies reciprocal treatment.

Similarly, Rep. Pelosi is now sounding alarms of concern.  In a statement, Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hamill said:

This deal prompts great concern about the Chinese government’s continued attempts to use its state-owned enterprises to acquire global energy resources.

Saying “I told you so” offers little solace to concerned Republican lawmakers. 

“Do we really want to be buying our oil or Canadian oil back from the Chinese?” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND). “If we don’t take action to develop our resources and work with our closest friend and ally Canada, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”