EU, US float proposals to impose carbon taxes on imported products

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation will hold a virtual event Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. that provides an overview of the challenges and risks of proposed legislation on climate tech innovation, global trading relationships and international climate agreements.

Lawmakers in the U.S. and the European Union have introduced proposals that would tax carbon emissions on imported products as part of a larger effort to reduce harmful greenhouse gases.

The EU proposal presented in July would require importers to pay a fee for carbon emitted from cement, iron, steel, aluminum, fertilizer and electricity generation. EU lawmakers see the proposal as a way of leveling the playing field between European producers who have to pay carbon prices and foreign competitors that do not, said Stefan Koester, senior policy analyst with ITIF who will speak at the event titled "Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms and Climate-Tech Innovation: A Happy Coupling?" The EU's carbon tax is expected to be fully implemented by 2026.

Producers in countries that already have carbon tax mechanisms in place may be exempt from the European tax if their carbon price is just as stringent as the EU's tax, but American companies would have to pay the carbon price when importing targeted goods into Europe, Koester said.

That could change under a proposal by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., called the FAIR Transition and Competition Act of 2021, which would establish a national carbon fee mechanism. The import fee would cover carbon-intensive goods including aluminum, cement, iron, steel, natural gas, petroleum and coal.

Opponents of the taxes fear that the fees will inhibit the private sector from investing in technology that curbs carbon emissions, with some choosing to pay the tariff rather than invest in efforts to reduce emissions.

	Government
	Sept. 21	The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. titled "Preserving the Right of Consumers to Access Personal Financial Data."
	Sept. 21	The U.S. House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics will hold a virtual hearing at 11 a.m. titled “NASA’s Future in Low Earth Orbit: Considerations for International Space Station Extension and Transition."
	Sept. 23	The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will host a webinar at 2:30 p.m. on its Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program.
	Industry, legal and think tank events
	Sept. 21	ITIF will host a virtual webinar at 10 a.m. titled "Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms and Climate-Tech Innovation: A Happy Coupling?"
	Sept. 21	The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council will host an event titled "Driving Adoption of Emerging Technology – AI Frameworks and Approaches for Use Across Government."
	Sept. 22	The Institute for Policy Innovation will hold an online event at 2 p.m. titled "Antitrust and the Modern Economy."
	Sept. 22-23	The Defense Strategies Institute will hold its Critical Infrastructure Security Summit at National Harbor in Maryland.

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