Dear Colleague,

Over the weekend, the Biden Administration and the European Union announced they would begin work on a global deal to discourage high-carbon steel and aluminum imports. We believe the announcement is a bellwether of much-needed harmonization of climate and trade.

At the Council, we are convinced that we can lower emissions and drive investment back to the U.S. Climate policies, such as the carbon dividends plan, that strengthen American competitiveness and bolster U.S. industry are key to winning broad public support for decarbonizing the U.S. economy.

The Biden administration’s announcement comes after the Council released a study in May about the striking benefits for the U.S. steel industry of a domestic carbon price and border adjustment. Ultimately, this economy-wide approach will benefit U.S. manufacturers, their workers and the global climate the most.

Please find links to our statement, the White House Fact Sheet and a Wall Street Journal story on the agreement, which cites our research, below.

All the best, 

The Council Team

CLC: U.S-E.U. Steel and Aluminum Agreement Establishes Important Foundation for Linking Climate and Trade

White House: The US and EU to Negotiate World’s First Carbon-Based Sectoral Arrangement



WSJ: At G-20 Summit, U.S. Agrees to Relax Tariffs on European Steel

The Climate Leadership Council works with a diverse coalition of businesses, environmental, and opinion leaders to advance the four-part carbon dividends framework as the most cost-effective, equitable, and politically viable climate solution. Enacting the carbon dividends framework would unleash America’s full innovative capacity against climate change and cut emissions in half by 2035 on its own.