Democratic lawmakers are drawing up plans for a tax on imports from carbon-polluting countries to help pay for a $3.5tn package in new government spending on everything from universal childcare to an expansion of public healthcare benefits.
While details of the tariffs are scant, news of Democrats’ proposals came on the same day as the EU published its plans to impose a levy on imports based on their carbon footprint.
European diplomats had hoped that Washington would work with Brussels to address climate change through trade mechanisms such as a carbon border tax. But any US effort to impose levies on carbon entering the country would mark a shift in policy for Joe Biden’s administration.