US carbon tariffs wouldn't cut global emissions, report says
Republican legislation that would impose a fee on imports of some products that generate high levels of greenhouse gas emissions during production would not cut global emissions overall, a new report said.
The 'Foreign Pollution Fee Act' from Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) would impose tariffs on products such as iron, steel, aluminum, cement and glass based on their carbon intensity when made compared with U.S.-manufactured products. Carbon intensity measures emissions per unit of production and allows facilities to increase production without automatically facing a penalty.
The legislation would likely increase U.S. production of the products, which would ratchet up the country's greenhouse gas emissions, said the report Wednesday by Resources for the Future think tank. Domestic production of cement would increase by more than 9 percent, aluminum would increase by roughly 8 percent, and iron and steel by more than 7 percent.
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But countries that produce less carbon-intensive materials might sell more products to the U.S., which could offset emissions from additional domestic production, the report says.
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