"The EU proposal would open up a new front in the fight against climate change by setting the world's first limits on carbon in traded goods. The 27-nation bloc says it wants to stop polluting industries from shifting production outside Europe to avoid the bloc's emissions limits and then exporting back into the EU. The proposal would also use the EU's economic heft to send a powerful signal for countries outside the bloc to start regulating carbon emissions.
The EU proposal would require European importers to buy certificates that would cover the carbon content of their imports in certain sectors, according to a draft of the legislation reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. At first, the rules would apply to four heavily polluting industries: steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizer, the draft says. Other industries would be included over time. The draft says the rules could come into effect during a transitional period starting as early as 2023 and be fully in force in 2025, though officials say those dates could change in the final proposal.
The proposal would establish a new agency to enforce the rules and certify private companies that importers would need to hire to calculate the carbon content of goods produced overseas. Importers of goods covered by the levy -- called a carbon border adjustment mechanism -- would need to be authorized by the new agency, according to the draft proposal. Officials say the legislation would create a big new market for firms with the expertise to calculate the so-called carbon content of imports.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, is drafting the legislation, which must then be approved by the bloc's national governments and the European Parliament.
The idea already has broad political support across the bloc: EU member states endorsed it at a summit last year and the Parliament did so this year." [1]
1. World News: Europe Plans to Use Carbon Levels in Tax On Imported Goods
Dalton, Matthew. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]11 June 2021: A.16.
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