US threatens sanctions over global shipping carbon tax

The United States warned on Friday that it could impose sanctions and other punitive measures on any country that votes to implement a carbon tax on shipping through the United Nations agency.

In a joint statement made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his colleagues in the ministries of Energy and Transportation, it was said: “We will fight hard to protect our economic interests by imposing costs on countries if they support the Net Zero Framework.”

Members of the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) are scheduled to vote next week to adopt the Net Zero Framework (NZF), which aims to reduce global carbon emissions from the shipping sector.
However, Washington described the proposal as imposing a “global carbon tax on the world”.

US President Donald Trump has reversed Washington’s climate policies since returning to power in January, calling them a “fraud” and encouraging fossil fuel use through deregulation.

In the statement, Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Trump administration “categorically rejects” the NZF proposal. They warned of a range of potential measures against countries that voted in the affirmative, including visa restrictions, blocking ships registered in those countries from entering U.S. ports, imposing trade penalties and considering sanctions on officials. The declaration stated that remedies will be sought against nations that sponsor neo-colonial exports of European-led global climate regulations.