E&E News: “US Carbon Tariffs Wouldn’t Cut Global Emissions, Report Says”

This story discusses a new RFF report on the Foreign Pollution Fee Act.

View on E&E News website

Date

May 23, 2025

News Type

Media Highlight

Source

E&E News

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-SC) would impose tariffs on products such as iron, steel, aluminum, cement, and glass based on their carbon intensity when made compared with US-manufactured products...

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...

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.

Related People

Related Content