Research On Legal Issues Of Carbon Tariffs

To combat climate change, the United States, Europe, and other developed countries have proposed a "Carbon Tariff" on products from countries which have not committed to the reduction of its carbon emissions. It was strongly opposed by developing countries, especially China and India. At the same time, it also led to widespread controversy on the legality of this trade measures all over the world.Whether the Carbon Tariffs measure is consistent with the international laws of the WTO and whether it is a trade protectionism or not? Can it make use of the Environment Exceptions of GATT as a defense? This issue is worth our concern and consideration.This paper starts with the basic concept of carbon tariffs, including the background of carbon tariffs and its performance of domestic law. Because carbon tariffs is not only relates to the international trade law, but also relates to the international environment law, it leads to the conflict and coordination between mechanism of multilateral environmental agreements and WTO rules. The second chapter elaborates the legal conflict and coordination between free trade and environment protection. In the following reasoning part, the paper proceeds with the analysis on the conformance of carbon tariffs and WTO rules, including national treatment, most favorite treatment and border tax adjustment. This chapter also analyses whether the carbon tariffs can make use of the Environmental Exception rules of GATT as its legal basis. In the last chapter, the paper demonstrates the economic and trade effect of the carbon tariffs and analyses the current situation and problem of our environmental legal system, at the same time, the paper puts forward some reasonable suggestions on how to revise and improve our International Trade Law and Environment Law and proposes some legal strategy from national and international level in order to make a good preparation to combat carbon tariffs.