Study of the Evolution of Financial Derivatives Regulation in the United States with Emphasis on Energy and Oil Trades

The United States is one of the important origins of derivative instruments and markets in energy trading and has regulatory experiences instructive for other countries. In this paper, the background and evolution of eight laws adopted for derivatives regulation in this country over the past hundred and fifty years in two periods -before and after the emergence of oil and energy derivatives- have been examined. The first four laws are enacted before emergence of energy derivatives and are mainly related to agricultural transactions that are the basis of the second period laws. The last four laws are related to after emergence and application of derivative instruments used in oil, gas and energy transactions in the last five decades. This article discusses the motivations, regulatory mechanisms and contents of each of these laws and finally presents the lessons learned for regulating energy derivatives in Iran and the world.