Climate Change Bill: Business Groups in US Warns of ‘Green Trade War’

Major business groups in the United States have warned US Congress that it will trigger what may be called a “green trade war” if Congress passes a climate change bill which “threatens” other countries with taxes on energy-intensive goods.

In a letter to US Senate leaders, the National Foreign Trade Council, the United States Chamber of Commerce and two other groups urged the Senate to desist from including provisions that could “negatively impact US relations with key trading partners and disrupt the global trading systems.”  Climate change, the letter adds, is a global problem which requires international cooperation and not “unilateral ultimatums.”

In June 2009, the United States House of Representatives passed a Bill aimed at cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gases by 17% by 2020 and by 83% by 2050.  The US Bill contains a “border adjustment” program. This program, starting in 2020, will impose additional tariffs on carbon-intensive goods like steel, cement, glass and paper from those countries that the US believes are not doing their best to reduce the emissions.

It may be noted that developing countries like India and China have strongly opposed the “border adjustment” program on the grounds that the United States and other developed countries are responsible for most of the greenhouse-gases that are already there in the air.

At the same time, China recently overtook the United States as the top emitter of carbon dioxide in the world.