Republicans are hoping to catch a ride on the tariff train, as senators unveiled a bill Tuesday that would slap penalties on countries that generate high levels of manufacturing pollution.
The “Foreign Pollution Fee Act,” from Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, has the backing of climate advocates who want to see global emissions reduced and of industry groups that want protections for domestic manufacturing when competing with countries like China.
Cassidy has advocated for a foreign pollution fee for years but was unable to push through a version of the legislation during the last congressional term.
At an event with the Climate Leadership Council on Tuesday, featuring climate and industry supporters, Cassidy said that Republican control in Washington may make this iteration of the bill more successful.
“There’s a nexus between climate, national security, economic security and energy policy,” Cassidy said. “If you set up a policy which simultaneously addresses this nexus, then you can achieve all four. And that’s the goal of this policy.”
That would be music to the ears of many seeking a bipartisan path to drive down global emissions. But in the past few years, Republicans have hit roadblocks at moving even modest legislation dealing with foreign emissions.
A separate, bipartisan bill, the “Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act,” which would simply study the carbon intensity of domestic products, had raised alarms among some fossil fuel advocates, who feared it would be a precursor to a domestic carbon tax. It died last Congress without getting a floor vote in either chamber, and backers say there’s no timetable for its reintroduction.
But there could be a glimmer of hope. In announcing his sweeping tariffs last week, President Donald Trump mentioned pollution regulations as an area of inequality between the United States and China. And on Tuesday, Trump’s top trade official, Jamieson Greer, said “trade action can be appropriate” to address pollution by countries like China.
The legislation introduced by Cassidy on Tuesday would specifically levy tariffs against certain imports from countries like China and Russia, based on their level of greenhouse gas emissions. Imports that would receive a fee include steel, iron, aluminum, fertilizer and certain battery inputs.
The measure would not, however, fine domestic producers based on their emissions, as Democrats have argued is necessary to comply with World Trade Organization policies.
Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), in particular, has argued for so-called carbon border adjustment legislation that would be applied more universally.
Cassidy said his bill is “willing to accept the political reality” by recognizing that a domestic carbon tax would not pass in a Republican-led Congress. He said that his measure appeals to China hawks like co-sponsor Graham and to lawmakers looking to level the playing field for American manufacturers who have to comply with stricter pollution standards than those overseas.
“I think that our legislation reflects both the aspirations of those among us concerned about global greenhouse gas emissions and the valid concerns of people … that are going every day to work and doing a good job producing goods essential to our community,” Cassidy said.
He added that he and Graham have “good cooperation” from Democrats on the measure, though there are no Democratic co-sponsors thus far.
“We’re in really good shape to explore working with the administration,” said George David Banks, a former Trump administration official who is now a conservative climate adviser, at Cassidy’s bill announcement event.
‘Rabid animal spirits’
Although the pollution fee measure has the backing of climate organizations like the Climate Leadership Council, sponsors are treading lightly on marketing it as a climate bill.
A bill announcement from Cassidy’s office did not include phrases such as “climate” or “carbon,” distancing the measure from what some members might perceive as a carbon tax. It instead focused on bolstering American manufacturing and competing with China.
Still, as he rolled out the measure Tuesday, Cassidy did not shy away from discussion of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“We’re talking about a bill, which has the chance to become law, which would begin to penalize countries which have not cleaned up their act in a way that would bring down global greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
The Sierra Club expressed support for the legislation but simultaneously panned other tariff actions from Republicans and Trump.
“The introduction of the Foreign Pollution Fee Act is an opportunity for the Republican Party to ditch the pack of rabid animal spirits driving the economy into the ground and to truly champion industry,” said Harry Manin, the Sierra Club’s deputy legislative director on industrial policy and trade.
Prospects for the separate “PROVE IT Act” are unclear. The bill, from Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), does not yet have a timeline for introduction this term, Coons’ office said. Last year, the bill advanced out of the Environment and Public Works Committee 14-5.
The legislation is aimed at studying the carbon intensity of U.S. manufacturing, “proving” the degree to which domestic manufacturing is cleaner than manufacturing in countries like China.
The House version of the bill was introduced last year by then-Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), who is now a senator.
Reconciliation prospects
The reintroduction of the “Foreign Pollution Fee Act” comes as Republicans are continuing to shape their party-line budget reconciliation bill, which will have a specific energy focus.
Zach Friedman, senior director for federal policy at nonprofit Ceres, said he was “quite sure” that the bill was being introduced now to give it a chance to fit into reconciliation package, which can pass Congress with a simple majority.
“Whether it’s in the reconciliation bill itself or as an amendment, I think there’s a definite window here, which would be, we think, a very positive, strategic decision,” Friedman said.
Cassidy’s office did not respond to a request for comment on whether the bill is being floated for the reconciliation package that will take shape in the coming weeks.
Friedman noted that the bill would be a source of revenue for Republicans, who are looking for ways to cut spending to meet a lowered budget baseline.
The need for revenue, as well as the Republican trifecta and ongoing trade agenda, make this a prime moment to push through foreign pollution fee legislation, he said.
This story also appears in Climatewire.
