Dose Carbon Tariff Compatible with the rules of WTO?(<Special Issue>The Environmental Management and Production Systems in the 21th Century)

Abstract

As a trade restrictive measure directed towards imports, carbon tariff will influence the international trade and inevitably be subject to relevant provisions of WTO rules. Whether it can be considered as border tax adjustment, carbon tariff seems to violate non-discrimination principles, including the national treatment principle and MFN principle. It is also hard to justify carbon tariff under Article XX exceptions. Therefore, there are significant difficulties in proving that carbon tariff is compatible with WTO rules. This paper presents investigation results of the legislative trends in the U.S. and research trends of European Union on carbon tariff.