LONDON — The Trump administration has upended what it calls “blatantly unfair” talks to set a carbon tax on international shipping and has vowed “reciprocal measures” to shield U.S. ships from any fees, according to a letter seen by POLITICO.
The International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Environmental Protection Conference (MEPC) is taking place in London this week and aims to reach a deal on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from shipping.
The U.S. letter aims to block the process.
It was circulated to many embassies of the other countries in attendance by the U.S. government. It was seen by POLITICO, having been obtained by an industry group via a national delegation, and was confirmed by other participants in the talks.
The letter stated: “President Trump has made it clear that the U.S. will not accept any international environmental agreement that unduly or unfairly burdens the U.S. or the interest of the American people.”
The debate at the MEPC is whether to tax shipping emissions through a fuel standard (a carbon credits trading scheme) or a universal levy (a flat-rate tax on emissions).
However, the U.S. opposes any carbon tax at all. “Accordingly, we must be clear the U.S. rejects any and all efforts to impose economic measures against its ships based on GHG emissions or fuel choice,” the letter said.
“Should such a blatantly unfair measure go forward, our government will consider reciprocal measures so as to offset any fees charged to U.S. ships and compensate the American people for any other economic harm from any adopted GHG emissions measures. The Trump Administration will protect the American people and their economic interests.”
The U.S. tried to convince other countries to join it in objecting to the discussions: “The U.S. is not engaging in negotiations at the IMO 3rd Marine Environment Protection Committee from 7-11 April and urges your government to reconsider its support for the GHG emissions measures under consideration,” the letter said.
Anaïs Rios, shipping policy officer at the Seas at Risk NGO, said a U.S. boycott of IMO talks is “new” for the country. Under the previous Joe Biden administration the country was active in the talks.
Trump has a long-standing antagonism toward climate policies. He pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement during his first term as president and has vowed to do so again, announcing a pro-oil “drill, baby, drill” policy.
However, the U.S. is not the only player in the talks.
“Let’s not get dazzled by the drama — this isn’t the United States of Shipping,” Rios said. “There are 175 countries in the room, and delegates are rolling up their sleeves to find the best path forward. One country trying to play the disruptor doesn’t change the fact that global cooperation is the real headline here.”
The U.S. letter also took aim at the wider climate change agenda: “The UN should halt all efforts to proliferate the deeply unfair agenda reflected in the Paris Agreement in other fora,” adding that “[a] plain reading of these measures is that they are foremost an effort to redistribute wealth under the guise of environmental protection.”
The U.S. government did not respond to a request for comment.
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