Dear Friends,

Today, Senators Cassidy (R-LA), Graham (R-SC), and Wicker (R-MS) introduced the Foreign Pollution Fee (FPF) Act, a bill that would establish a U.S. carbon import fee and encourage the development of international climate partnerships. This is a thoughtfully developed bill that seeks to balance economic impacts, climate interests, and political dynamics. The FPF Act is also a promising opportunity to build toward an impactful U.S. climate policy breakthrough. Here’s what the Council likes most about the FPF Act:

1.      Establishes a fee based on carbon intensity: Global decarbonization requires implementing market-based policy incentives. Fees at international borders, like those proposed in the FPF Act, provide incentives designed to impact the nearly 25% of global emissions associated with internationally traded goods.

2.      Encourages international partnerships: We need new approaches and partnerships on the international stage to encourage emission reductions across countries. The FPF Act seeks to incentivize international partnerships with this objective in mind.

3.      Senate Republican leadership on climate: With the FPF Act and the PROVE IT Act, this year has seen Sens. Cassidy, Graham, Wicker, Cramer (R-ND), Murkowski (R-AK), and Boozman (R-AR) cosponsor climate and trade legislation. This new area of climate policy has brought notable new entrants to the broader discussion.

The bill text and other resources from Senator Cassidy’s office can be found here. The Council’s public statement on the bill can be found here. The Council’s analysis of the bill’s WTO implications can be found here.

While work lies ahead in refining policy approaches and building larger coalitions of support, the FPF Act represents an important milestone and unique opportunity to build toward a meaningful climate policy breakthrough.

Best,

Greg