After President Trump caught on to the UN’s efforts to enact a de facto world tax on shipping, he made it clear that U.S. ships would NOT be complying with this unenforceable order. Rather than risking appearing to be powerless, the UN has announced a plan to delay the final vote on the tax by one year. Trump has made it clear the passage of a year will not alter his administration’s defiance.
In a joint statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said on October 10, “President Trump has made it clear that the United States will not accept any international environmental agreement that unduly or unfairly burdens the United States or harms the interests of the American people. Next week, members of the IMO will vote on the adoption of a so-called NZF aimed at reducing global carbon dioxide gas emissions from the international shipping sector. This will be the first time that a UN organization levies a global carbon tax on the world.”
The regulations had been initially approved in April by the U.N.’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) by a vote of 63-16. A second vote by the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) was to be held this past week with a majority of nations expected to support the plan.
