Stephen Moore: Stop the UN global climate tax on American ships

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Later this week, the United Nations will hold a vote on a multibillion-dollar climate change tax targeted squarely at American industry. Without quick and decisive action by the White House, this U.N. tax on fossil fuels will become international law.

This resolution before the International Maritime Organization will impose a carbon tax on cargo and cruise ships that carry $20 trillion of merchandise over international waters. Roughly 80% of the bulk of world trade is transported by ship.

The resolution is intended to advance the very “net zero” carbon emissions standard that has kneecapped European economies for years and that American voters have rejected.

This international tax would be applied to American vessels and, as such, is a dangerous precedent-setting assault on U.S. sovereignty. Since when are American businesses subject to international taxes imposed by the U.N.?

The U.S maritime industry believes the global tax would cost American shippers more than $100 billion over the next seven years if enacted.

Worst of all, if the resolution passes, it will require the retirement of older ships and enable a multibillion-dollar wealth transfer to China, which has come to dominate shipbuilding in recent years. China STRONGLY supports the tax scheme — even though, ironically, no nation has emitted more pollutants into the atmosphere than it has. Yet WE are getting socked with a tax that indirectly pays for THEIR pollution.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy have jointly stated that America “will not accept any international environmental agreement that unduly or unfairly burdens the United States or our businesses.” They call the financial impact on the U.S. of this global carbon tax “disastrous, with some estimates forecasting global shipping costs increasing as much as 10% or more.”

The U.S. maritime industry complains that although American vessels carry only about 12% of the globally shipped merchandise, U.S. flag vessels would bear almost 20% of this tax. No wonder China and Europe are for it. Even though the U.S. economy is roughly the size of Europe’s, the European Union nations get 17 “yes” votes to swamp the 1 “no” vote out of Washington.

To prevent this sinister tax, the White House should announce a set of retaliation measures. This could include a dollar-for-dollar reduction in U.S. payments to NATO, the U.N., the IMF, and the World Bank. No foreign money should be directed to any nation that votes for this assault on American ships.

At a time when financial markets are reeling from trade and tariff disputes, the last thing the world — least of all the United States — needs is a U.N. excise tax on trade.

Stephen Moore is a former Trump senior economic adviser and the cofounder of Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for education freedom for all children.

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Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore is an economics journalist, author, and columnist who served as the senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal editorial page and as member of the Journal's editorial board.