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EU chief threatens carbon tariffs on imports

24 January 2008

The president of the European commission has threatened to impose carbon tariffs on imports unless the US, India and China agree to a global climate change deal.

In a speech to business leaders at Lehman Brothers Bank in Canary Wharf in London on Monday, Jose Manuel Barroso said he may intervene to protect energy-intensive sectors such as aluminium, steel and cement if those businesses lose out to countries with less strict carbon emissions rules.

Under the auspices of World Trade Organisation rules, which allow nations to impose charges on environmental grounds in some circumstances, Mr Barroso argued that foreign firms should be forced to purchase the same carbon allowances European firms will be obliged to purchase.

Either energy-intensive industries should be handed carbon allowances free of charge under the European Trading System (ETS) or importers should obtain allowances alongside EU competitors, he argued.

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