Influence Of Carbon Tariffs On Chinese Economy In The View Of International Trade

The subprime lending of America in 2007 resulted in the financial crisis, which has spread fast around the world. The economy of each country was badly wounded, so was the United States. Meantime, against the global warming, energy crisis, in 2009, the United States issued the American Clean Energy and Security Act which said that the United States government will impose carbon tariffs on importing high energy consumption products since 2020, and the target countries include those who do not take measures to limit carbon emission. This is the first time that the United States government laid down a law on controlling the carbon emission. The proposal of the Act incurred hot discussion in the world. It is said by the United States that the main purpose of carbon tariffs is to protect the deteriorating environment and maintain the fair competition. However, many developing countries questioned the real aim and disagreed with the United States.Developing countries such as China and India strongly fight against the Act of imposing carbon tariffs, thinking that carbon tariffs is actually the trade protectionism and a new trade barrier to protect their domestic industries and curb the development of developing countries, so the world should take resistance against carbon tariffs which will definitely undermine the free trade. While developed countries like France took a positive attitude toward carbon tariffs, holding the opinion that carbon tariffs could help the products from developed countries avoid from unfair competition for the reason of energy saving and carbon reduction, also, carbon tariffs will benefits the sustainable development of the world economy.Carbon tariffs, as a new form of international trade barrier, has many features different from traditional trade barriers, for instance, the uncertainty of its legitimacy, the nominal rationality and the actual unfairness. It is the peculiarity of carbon tariffs that will definite result in different influence on each economic subject. To developed countries that impose carbon tariffs, they will effectively protect their industries, promote their recovery from financial crisis and inhibit developing countries from economic development. To developing countries, carbon tariffs will be a heavy hit to their economy, for developing countries are in the middle phase of industrial development, heavily relying on industries to drive their economy with industrial manufactured goods the mainstay of their exports. However, developing countries have limited ability in energy-saving and emission-reduction for lack of capital and technology, therefore, carbon tariffs will bring unbearable pressure for them.Up till now, World Trade Organization has not determined the nature of carbon tariffs, the legitimacy of which was obscure. However, it is said that the imposing of carbon tariffs is not fair to developing countries like China and India.In the perspective of economy, carbon tariffs serve to protect domestic industries and facilitate economic recovery; in the view of politics, carbon tariffs will help strengthen their influence in the world. With the popularity of low-carbon economy, many international negotiations on climate change have been held; developed countries are in such a hurry to find out a new vantage point in economic development. Carbon tariffs is the very thing which can help developed countries shake off their guilty of pollution, while bring the good reputation of environmental protection. It can be said that carbon tariffs is the product of developed countries after careful planning.The paper starts from the definition and history of carbon tariffs, with the targets of Carbon tariffs carbon-intensive products such as aluminum, steel, cement, glass products and other chemical commodity. Carbon tax is levied on carbon emissions, to be exact, a pollution tax. It is based on the carbon emission amount after combustion of fossil fuels, the producing, the distribution and the use of fossil fuels to levy taxes. It can be said that carbon tariffs are an international tax of carbon tax. In order for a further understanding of carbon tariffs, the paper elaborates on the development of carbon tariffs. Carbon tariffs is the product against the background of financial crisis, energy crisis and global warming, and this makes the proposal of carbon tariffs more complicated. More still, different attitudes toward to carbon tariffs by countries like the United States, France, India and China reflect the competition on economic and political strength.Low carbon economy is the only way for sustainable development. Though carbon tariffs has not been implemented, we have to take the possibility of implementation into consideration. China is a large developing country; with coal its main energy resource. China is one of the important suppliers of industrial manufactured goods to developed countries, and once carbon tariffs is imposed, China will become a main victim. In terms of industrial structure, the secondary industry is the main source to drive the economic development. However, carbon tariffs will affect bad influence on the development of the secondary industry; in terms of export, the export of industrial manufactured goods was 95% of the whole export amount in 2008. Obviously, carbon tariffs will be a heavy blow to China's export; in terms of trade policy, Chinese government need to find urgent solutions to problems brought by carbon tariffs, for example, make adjustment of tax policy, how to prevent high energy consumption products from other countries to China. Whatever, we have to admit that, in the long run, carbon tariffs will play a positive role in protecting the deteriorating environment and promoting the optimization of industrial structure in developing countries.In the last part of the paper, the author suggests several measures for the government and enterprises on the basis of the current situation of China. China should bravely fight against the carbon tariffs proposal; what's more, positive measures should also be taken to response to it. Through policy and encouraging measures, Chinese government should facilitate the construction of new energy, and develop the low carbon economy. Meantime, China needs to establish "anti-carbon tariffs Union" with other developing countries so as to strive for more verbal and economic rights. Chinese enterprises should implement the "going out" strategy and learn, absorb and make adjustment of foreign advanced technology of energy saving and emission reduction. In order to reduce the damage from carbon tariffs imposed by some countries, enterprises are supposed to make diversified developing strategy in different foreign markets. With carbon trading and CDM project, enterprises should make efforts to gain financial and technological support from developed countries. These measures could help companies develop in a sustainable way.