As more world leaders consider levying border taxes on climate-damaging goods, a new study looks at ways it can be done in countries—including the United States—that haven’t established a domestic market for carbon emissions.
The findings are timely. European Union officials this summer set in motion plans for the world’s first carbon border tariff. U.S. lawmakers responded last month with their own border tax proposal.
How these efforts play out will have a significant impact on both the international trade network and the global fight against climate change.
A 12-page study published last week by Resources for the Future, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, offered a road map for how U.S. officials might craft a border tax without relying on an internal market for carbon emissions.
The proposal in many ways mirrors legislation put forward last month by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.). Their bill would levy a fee on imported pollution by assessing the costs U.S. producers must pay to comply with current rules and regulations.
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