Senate Republican’s Bill Would Place Fee on Imports of Polluting Products

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), alongside Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), introduced the Foreign Pollution Fee Act of 2023. The bill would put a fee on imports across the energy and industrial sectors — from things like fossil fuels, solar panels, and wind turbines to aluminum, steel, and cement — based on their pollution intensity relative to the U.S. average. The bill places no fee, tax, or burden on U.S. producers.

The bill builds upon the United States' December 2020 proposal to the World Trade Organization, which called on member nations to impose duties on polluting bad actors.

In response, Harry Manin, Deputy Legislative Director for Industrial Policy and Trade, released the following statement:

“We commend Senate Republicans for putting forward a climate-forward trade policy. The Foreign Pollution Fee Act would benefit American manufacturers and ensure that bigger polluters elsewhere in the world do not undercut domestic producers. It sends a strong signal to polluting international manufacturers that if they want to enter the U.S. market, they need to clean up their acts. Crucially, it empowers the National Laboratories to scrutinize and determine international competitors' pollution.

Moving forward, climate-friendly trade policies need to make clear to American manufacturers that by continuing to reduce emissions, they will become more competitive globally and capture a growing share of the domestic market. A foreign polluter fee is a sound tool to increase clean domestic production and keep good manufacturing jobs on American soil. But to take full advantage, countries with which the U.S. has Free Trade Agreements must not receive license to pollute significantly more than the U.S. by continuing to enter our market without paying a pollution fee."

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