2009-04-23

The West's Environmental Protectionism

Western countries often use environmentalism and labor rights as cover for a protectionist agenda. The face of the movement is environmentalists or human rights advocates, but the power to push the agenda through Congress comes from those who would benefit directly from these policies: domestic manufacturers and unions. This is why these measures usually fail in a Republican Congress. While there are a number of Republicans who might vote to protect domestic manufacturers and who still harbor anti-China opinions left over from the Cold War, they have no cover for their agenda. The Democrats, closely tied to unions and environmentalists, are able to push through an anti-trade, anti-China agenda.

During a speech at New York University about how the US and China can forge a closer partnership, Tung Chee-hwa, vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Chinese government’s official advisory, said that a proposed “border adjustment” programme could be challenged through the World Trade Organisation and that he was “distressed” by the new bill introduced to Congress.

The programme in question was introduced earlier this month by two powerful Democrats in the House of Representatives. The bill includes aggressive climate targets to be met through a green house gas emissions cap and trade programme, where companies would be eligible for rebates to compensate for cost they incur. More controversially, the US government would be able to levy import taxes on foreign manufacturers to cover carbon contained in US-bound products.

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