Cap and Trade, Obama, and More Hot Air = Trade War?

Politicians produce a lot of it, too.

What is interesting is that while President Obama is trying to pass the Economy Killer (Cap and Trade) he is against Congress trying to pass a CO2 tariff which would basically impose a tax on countries that do not have the same stupid CO2 laws the Democrats want.  The idea is that if U.S. companies and energy producers have to pay a CO2 tax and China doesn’t then why not tax Chinese imports as if U.S. law applied to them so Americans would not be at a competitive disadvantage as far as our imports.  Of course, not passing Cap and Trade would be more effective but because Obama is looking for revenue (read: taxpayer money) to fund Obamakare this isn’t an option.

It seems that other countries have some strong opinions about this strategy:

Germany called a French idea to slap “carbon tariffs” on products from countries that are not trying to cut greenhouse gases a form of “eco-imperialism” and a direct violation of WTO rules.

The issue of greenhouse tariffs has met bitter opposition from developing countries such as China and India, who count on the developed world to buy their exports as they build their economies in the face of the worst financial crisis in decades.

Matthias Machnig, Germany’s State Secretary for the Environment, told a news briefing on Friday that a French push for Europe to impose carbon tariffs on imports from countries that flout rules on carbon emissions would send the wrong signal to the international community.

“There are two problems — the WTO (World Trade Organization), and the signal would be that this is a new form of eco-imperialism,” Machnig said.

Germany, as I have said before, is a country run by intelligent people (except for their military policies), unlike the U.S.  The German response is the correct one.  As one of the top exporting countries in the world and the engine of European growth, Germany knows how to run an economy.  Their people save more than in America, their leader spent less on wasteful stimulus, and are more economically responsible than are our leaders.  The French idea is exactly the same as what Democrats are cooking up:

The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed legislation that contains carbon tariffs. It would allow the United States to impose duties on imports of carbon-intensive goods such as steel, cement, paper and glass from countries that have not taken steps to reduce their own emissions.

CO2 tariffs will bring trade to a halt.

Of course, all of this talk is foreplay for making a “good” presentation at the silly environmental conference in Copenhagen later this year (a deadline Obama sees to have Cap and Trade signed into law).

It is not about CO2 or polar bears, it is about the money to be “made” under these schemes.  Because they will kill the economies in the countries that pass Cap and Trade or similar ideas, a sop is made to industry:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said last month such taxes could help create a “level playing field” for European companies competing with international firms from countries that have not put a price on carbon emissions.

Since China and India are smart enough to not get drawn into these absurd ideas their economies will boom because their cost of production will become so much cheaper.  Obviously if Cap and Trade passes with these tariff provisions there will be a massive trade war which will destroy the global economy the way it did when the recession became the Great Depression.

Democrats are creating an entirely new set of problems in their desire to suck money out of the pockets of consumers and businesses.  Don’t we have better things to do right now than this?

Cap and Trade has been shelved until the Fall where, hopefully, it will die a quick death.  Either that or get ready for unemployment to get much worse.

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