The Trump administration is preparing to use tariffs and travel bans as reprisals against countries that support an upcoming agreement to put fees on shipping pollution.
Those moves, outlined in an email to POLITICO’s E&E News, provide the first details about how President Donald Trump plans to retaliate against nations that vote to approve an international agreement establishing climate pollution standards on cargo vessels. The measure is scheduled to be voted on in October by members of the United Nations International Maritime Organization.
“We are actively exploring and preparing to act on remedies, including tariffs, visa restrictions, or port levies should this effort succeed,” a State Department spokesperson said in the email.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and three other Cabinet members threatened last week to use reprisals against countries that support the agreement, as part of an effort to derail or weaken the climate measure. This is the first time the administration has outlined the punitive steps it plans to take.
