In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal (February 25,2013) , Andrew Livieres, CEO of Dow Chemical, suggests that permitting exports of shale gas, currently in abundant supply in the US, is not in the national interest. He argues that preventing supplies would keep energy prices low in the US and encourage chemical companies to move production back home, thus generating more US jobs than those created by exports. But are such constraints to block exports of commodities for which there is a greater profit potential abroad strategic or arbitrary choices ? Is a focus on the creation of US jobs, albeit at the cost of profits to natural gas exporters, a fair tradeoff or a subsidy for chemical companies? Will prices rise anyway as natural gas companies find smarter ways to increase their margins and thus worsen the situation for all ?