The Real Reason the UAE Is Quitting OPEC (Hint: It’s Not Just About Oil)

The Emirati strategy can best be summed up as ‘take the money and run,’ says Johns Hopkins economist Steve H. Hanke.

BY BRIAN CONTRERAS, STAFF WRITER @_B_CONTRERAS_

Steve Hanke. Photo: Getty Images

When the United Arab Emirates announced yesterday that it would be leaving OPEC, the intergovernmental organization that has long sought to steer global oil markets, by the end of this week, the news came abruptly—but not without precedent.

Indeed, as the New York Times noted in its coverage of the UAE’s departure from the group, the Gulf country’s leaders have repeatedly talked about backing out over frustrations with how it limits their oil exports.

Still, after more than half a century in OPEC,........

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