Taxing Carbon Imports
SEARCH BLOG: EPA and ECONOMICS
It was only meant to be sarcasm. I never thought anyone would take it seriously when I wrote:
The EPA, with the strong leadership of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party controlled Congress, are about to impose a vast new panoply of regulations and economic burdens on the United States in the name of climate control. The U.S., however, is only a minority producer of human-generated CO2. The two fastest growing economies have become the largest producers of CO2, China already is the world's biggest man-made CO2 producer (2007) and India is coming up fast, and are also becoming the largest suppliers of goods consumed in the United States. They will have no comparable restrictions on producing CO2.It was sarcasm because the EPA is on a fool's errand regarding CO2 regulation in the U.S. and because the obviously stupid bureaucracy enforcing taxes and fees on products produced elsewhere based on some theoretical CO2 pollution confounds human reason and intelligence.
Consequently, in the spirit of fairness and cooperation and saving the planet, it is incumbent upon the EPA to ensure that ANY PRODUCT PRODUCED ANYWHERE THAT IS BROUGHT INTO THE UNITED STATES MEET ALL U.S. CO2 REGULATIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND PERMITS PERTAINING TO PRODUCTION AND BE CHARGED ALL EQUIVALENT TAXES, FEES AND PENALTIES FOR CO2 PRODUCTION.
Little did I realize that Henry Waxman had already taken it upon himself to promote such stupidity. H/T Dr. John Ray
From Financial Times:
This guy is dumber than he looks. Only Californians could love him.Chinese official warns US on protectionism
By Alan Rappeport in New York
Published: April 21 2009 19:29 | Last updated: April 21 2009 19:29
A top adviser to the Chinese government on Tuesday warned that a proposed US border tax on carbon sensitive materials “smells of protectionism” and could spark retaliation from developing countries.
During a speech at New York University about how the US and China can forge a closer partnership, Tung Chee-hwa, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Chinese government’s official advisory, said that a proposed “border adjustment” programme could be challenged through the World Trade Organisation and that he was “distressed” by the new bill introduced to Congress.
The programme in question was introduced earlier this month by two powerful Democrats in the House of Representatives. The bill includes aggressive climate targets to be met through a green house gas emissions cap and trade programme, where companies would be eligible for rebates to compensate for cost they incur. More controversially, the US government would be able to levy import taxes on foreign manufacturers to cover carbon contained in US-bound products.“This is particularly unfair to China,” Mr Tung, who was chief executive of Hong Kong from 1997 until 2005, said.
In March, Steven Chu, US energy secretary, told Congress that a carbon border tax would help “level the playing field” with countries with looser carbon standards.
The legislation, introduced by Henry Waxman, California Democrat and chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Edward Markey, Democrat from Massachusetts and Chairman of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee, aims to cut green house gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 and by more than 80 per cent by 2050, from 2005 levels.
The draft proposal would require electricity suppliers to get 25 per cent of their power from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, by 2025. It would establish a national renewable energy standard and an energy efficiency standard aimed at cutting power demand by 15 per cent by 2020 and natural gas demand by 10 per cent.
On Tuesday Mr Tung said that China was taking its own aggressive measures to combat climate change but that he was concerned about the US taking a more protectionist stance.
“The lesson from 1929 was that we went to protectionism and the whole world collapsed,” he said. “China and America are on the same boat.”
A vote could on the border tax bill could come as early as June, with the Senate expected to make its proposal in the autumn.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009
You are now entering The Twilight Zone... the twilight of many things.
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen...
George Orwell, "1984", first sentence
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