Addressing a congressional trade subcommittee on behalf of the Energy-Intensive Manufacturers’ Working Group, John McMackin said: “If the US enacts tough global-warming regulation but other key manufacturing nations do not, production of energy-intensive goods may well shift to the unregulated countries.”
The subcommittee is examining the trade implications of proposed legislation to restrict carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change. Kevin Brady, a Republican member of the subcommittee, said the United States could lose “a stunning $162 billion in export sales” as a result of higher costs if the US congress does not move carefully on the climate bill.
McMackin said his group believed the best way to prevent shifts to overseas production would be for energy-intensive manufacturers to be given free carbon-trading credits. Alternatively, he said, reduced compliance costs could be provided through a refundable tax credit or some other mechanism.
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