Democrats to Propose a Border Tax Based on Countries’ Greenhouse Gas Emissions

(New York Times, 19 Jul 2021) Senators will introduce a plan on Monday to tax iron, steel and other imports from countries without ambitious climate laws.

Democratic lawmakers on Monday will make public a plan to raise as much as $16 billion annually by imposing a tax on imports from China and other countries that are not significantly reducing the planet-warming pollution that they produce.

The tax would be levied regardless of whether Congress passed new laws to reduce emissions created by the United States. It would be designed to be approximately equivalent to the costs faced by American companies under state and federal environmental regulations.

Experts said a border carbon tax would almost certainly provoke America’s trading partners and could create serious diplomatic challenges ahead of United Nations climate negotiations set for November in Glasgow.

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New York Times, 19 Jul 2021: Democrats to Propose a Border Tax Based on Countries’ Greenhouse Gas Emissions