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Trump's new use for tariffs: Thwarting climate policy
The Trump administration hopes to kill a carbon fee on global shipping by using one of the president's favorite international cudgels: tariffs.
At least that's the plan the State Department is considering, my colleague Sara Schonhardt writes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and several other Trump officials threatened reprisals last week against countries within the United Nations International Maritime Organization that vote later this year in favor of a carbon fee and new fuel standard.
Sara's reporting is the first disclosure from the administration that tariffs, as well as travel bans and port levies, are on the table as retaliation.
The Trump administration has frequently used the threat of tariffs to pressure other countries into new trade deals. But deploying that punishment over a carbon fee suggests that the administration also sees a role for tariffs in thwarting international climate agreements that run afoul of President Donald Trump's pro-fossil fuel agenda, Sara writes.
The U.S., one of 176 member countries in the International Maritime Organization, supported the group's climate strategy in 2023 to zero out the sector's carbon emissions by roughly midcentury. In April, a majority of countries advanced a 'net zero framework' that included the fuel standard and carbon tax on shipping emissions as part of that larger goal. The proposal would essentially create a cap-and-trade system, in which vessels that are out of compliance have to buy or trade credits with more efficient ships.
The U.S. didn't show for the April talks. The Trump administration instead circulated letters at the time threatening reprisals against countries that supported the carbon fee.
The framework is set to be included in an international treaty to prevent shipping pollution that was first inked in the 1970s and includes several annexes of regulations. To advance, the framework needs two-thirds of the 108 countries that ratified the air pollution annex to approve it in October.
Last week, Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reiterated that the U.S. will retaliate against countries that support the tax in the final vote.
But one former State official, granted anonymity to avoid reprisal, told Sara that the administration has squandered its negotiating power by refusing to participate in the IMO debate in April and closing its own climate-focused offices.
'We clearly had an opportunity to shape this outcome, and it was just, for whatever reason, decided that because it was a climate thing it wasn't worth engaging,' the person said.
It's Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Heather Richards. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to hrichards@
Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Jordan Wolman breaks down why Trump's cuts to the Forest Service haven't fueled wildfire catastrophe and how America isn't out of the woods yet.
Power Centers
Incoming: Attacks on climate scienceThe Trump administration plans to wage a sustained assault on mainstream global warming research, according to one of the five main authors of a recent Department of Energy report that rejects established climate science.
Steven Koonin told Scott Waldman that under discussion are plans to hold a public debate about climate science, write a line-by-line rebuttal of the federal government's National Climate Assessment and ready a counterattack against climate scientists critical of last month's DOE report. Koonin also said it's important to increase the ranks of scientists who back the report, which makes claims counter to decades of findings from tens of thousands of scientists around the world.
'It can't be five against the world,' said Koonin, a former chief scientist for BP. 'We will have to enlist other scientists.'
Trump sidesteps laws for mineral dealsThe Trump administration is taking steps to circumvent federal laws in its quest to boost U.S. output of rare earth magnets, writes Hannah Northey.
Trump officials forged a multibillion-dollar deal to become the biggest stakeholder in a California mine for the rare earths used in electric vehicles, electronics and weapons. In executing that deal, the Department of Defense relied on a rarely used part of the Defense Production Act to sidestep procurement and contracting laws.
It's an unprecedented, though legally defensible, strategy that invites both risk and reward, said Joel Dodge, director of industrial policy and economic security at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator.
'This certainly looks like it might be the new playbook for these types of deals,' Dodge said.
In Other News
Melting asphalt: Paris planners are starting to prepare for the day when temperatures in the city could soar as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
New trial: The felony conviction of a climate activist who tried to halt a pipeline's construction was overturned by an appeals court due to 'pervasive' prosecutorial misconduct.
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Democrats say budget cuts, hiring freezes and departures are hollowing out inspectors general offices.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he knows Republicans could suffer political pain for the electricity prices that are rising before next year's midterm elections.
The Trump administration is boosting the tax incentive for carbon capture, even as it axes the federal funding and climate policies that could help the nascent industry grow.
That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
