Europe's new carbon tax on imported goods will change global trade

(theconversation.com)

20 points | by ksec 18 hours ago ago

8 comments

  • ivell 12 hours ago ago

    > As Moroccan firms will already pay a carbon price domestically, their exports are likely to avoid additional CBAM charges at the EU border, helping them remain competitive

    As per some reports, EU was not agreeing to a similar proposal from India.

  • zrn900 13 hours ago ago

    This became just more regulatory moat-building to protect the lagging domestic European auto industry. And by 'auto industry' it means the industry of 2-3 countries. And that means basically 2-3 brands and no more. Other economic regions will retaliate in kind.

  • billy99k 18 hours ago ago

    Hopefully, there will be as many complaints about this (which will increase the cost of everything) as the Tariffs Trump imposed.

    • _aavaa_ 16 hours ago ago

      Why? If prices rise as a result of this, it will be because customers now have to pay for the pollution that their products cause, rather than get to use the atmosphere as a free sewer.

      Meanwhile Trump's tariffs are capricious and chance every month without rhyme or reason.

      • ImJamal 13 hours ago ago

        Not who you were responding to, but most people don't really care about the reason of a price increase, only the price increase itself.

      • bigbadfeline 12 hours ago ago

        > rather than get to use the atmosphere as a free sewer

        The only way not to do that is to stop breathing and breeding. Or go back to the trees but that the same thing.

        > it will be because customers now have to pay for the pollution that their products cause.

        Pay to whom? And for what purpose? This excuse for another tariff isn't going to reduce pollution at all, it just adds another tax to be consumed by some newly minted private and public bureaucrats whose only contribution the world will be flavored methane.

        "Tax the people to save the world" is a vicious lie.

        > Meanwhile Trump's tariffs are capricious

        Bad or good excuses don't change the facts or effects of tariffs, tariffs aren't a tool for preventing pollution and haphazardly using them for that purpose triggers other economic and political consequences without doing anything for the stated objective.

        • _aavaa_ 12 hours ago ago

          > The only way not to do that is to stop breathing and breeding. Or go back to the trees but that the same thing.

          Not a productive comment for this website.

          > And for what purpose?

          So that local companies that have to pay for their pollution are not at a structural disadvantage against companies in other parts of the world where they can pollute for free.

          > tariffs aren't a tool for preventing pollution and haphazardly using them

          Why are they not a tool for preventing pollution? And what is haphazard about this application?

          • bigbadfeline 5 hours ago ago

            > So that local companies that have to pay for their pollution are not at a structural disadvantage against companies in other parts of the world where they can pollute for free.

            Nobody should assume that there are local producers with sufficient capacity for all tariffed items, or that foreign production is polluting more per item made. China has the most installed renewable power, ahead of everybody else by far, I'm pretty sure they pollute less per item produced.

            In other words, yours is not a valid purpose, what I've said before is. The EU is a customs union among other things, meaning there are already tariffs in place for "structural disadvantages" which include more than just pollution, itemizing them would require new watchdogs to measure the alleged offenses on a country by country basis. And for what? Is it at all possible? And who'd watch the watchers?

            > Why are they not a tool for preventing pollution? And what is haphazard about this application?

            I explained that above. It's only an excuse for taxing the population and more inflation. It has to be reiterated that these tariffs are a tax on the population, not on foreign businesses. If you don't know what tools are used for increasing business efficiency, you should study econ harder. Ditto if you don't know why I'm talking about efficiency.

            > Not a productive comment for this website.

            You mean, you've got the power to decide what's productive here and what not. Is that power limited to this website only or it applies to others too? I'm not saying you don't have the power, but your naked, argument-free claim on it doesn't provide any useful information.