Posted on 04/05/2025 6:01:26 AM PDT by MtnClimber
The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) has quietly embarked upon a bold initiative cloaked in the virtuous garb of climate responsibility. Ostensibly designed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, this global carbon levy is, in reality, a veiled taxation mechanism poised to significantly burden American consumers and businesses. What may initially appear as prudent environmental stewardship reveals itself, under scrutiny, as a dramatic expansion of global taxation, circumventing American democratic processes and redistributing wealth under UN auspices.
The mechanics of the tax are deceptively simple. Under the proposed framework, shipping companies would be required to pay a fixed fee per metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted during transoceanic voyages. This fee, expected to begin at a baseline of $100 per ton and scale over time, would be calculated based on the fuel used and the vessel's emissions profile. Crucially, this cost is not absorbed by the shipping conglomerates. It is passed down the chain of commerce—first to importers, then to wholesalers, and ultimately to the end consumers. The result is an invisible tax hike on every imported good that enters American ports, from smartphones assembled in Southeast Asia to agricultural produce from Latin America. The levy, in effect, operates as a consumption tax imposed by a foreign body on the American populace.
According to research by UNCTAD and DNV, this levy could escalate freight costs by between 71% and 85%, potentially doubling the price of shipping goods from overseas by mid-century. Such an increase is not mere statistical abstraction—it translates directly to elevated costs for everyday items, affecting everything from imported electronics to agricultural commodities. Shipping industry executives, from tanker operators to dry bulk carriers, have already begun expressing grave concerns, warning that these cost increments will inevitably cascade through supply chains, burdening American consumers and reducing corporate earnings in an already tenuous economic climate.
Beyond economic ramifications, the levy raises significant questions of democratic legitimacy. Traditionally, the power of taxation has been strictly the province of elected legislatures—explicitly, in the American context, the U.S. Congress. Yet the IMO’s method of implementing this tax is deftly designed to bypass such legislative oversight. By framing the carbon levy as amendments to MARPOL Annex VI regulations, the UN effectively sidesteps the requisite Senate ratification processes for international treaties. Consequently, this global levy could be implemented domestically through executive regulatory changes without meaningful Congressional debate or approval. This constitutes nothing less than taxation without representation, a principle that, ironically, once motivated the American colonies’ revolt against Britain....SNIP
Wish they would make up their mind.
Either Trump just killed all of international trade, were shipping rates would crash.
Or the reshipping of the world is going to kill international trade through high rates and shutting down international trade.
Perhaps Tariffs and shipping costs are very minor compared the retail price on the shelf. I saw a watch guy talk about how much a retail middle market imported watch would go up, he just casually said his markup was x3 the cost it took to get it into his retail store. He was insane about not cutting his margin, how is he going to feel about no sales for the next 6 months, because for a watch, suit, shoes, bag, car I am more than willing to wait out a tariff.
My counter is I can find a watch for 30 dollars and the tariff does not matter one bit. If I want a $30,000 dollar watch, I am jumping on an airplane and buying it in whatever land has no tariffs or no enforcement back to the USA. Canada and Mexico are going to be very good friends once they figure out the game going on in the short term until all the trade deals are refigured.
It is well past time to get the US out of the UN and the UN out of the US.
I would like to see Don Jr., Eric and Ivanka re-development the UN Building into expensive condos.
The UN can move to Somalia.
And that “fee” is going to be passed on to the consumers. Why aren’t the far-lefties screaming for the UN third worlders head’s and burning their stuff down. This is going to cause everything to be more expensive and wreck “da conomy”. Where are the Molotov cocktails bouncing off the UN stronghold? Huh?Where are the old paid geezers with their signs and line dancers? We didn’t elect no UN bozos. They’re all foreigners and Nazis.
I asked Grok AI a question about distributed manufacturing. IOW you have robots and 3D printers do a lot of the manufacturing. Most manufacturers would be local.
The question was is this better for the environment. The only thing imported is the computer program for the robots. No burning of fuel in shipping and no packaging that breaks down to microplastics.
In a nutshell the answer is yes, that would be better for the environment.
Carbon taxes/offsets = indulgences paid to the climate change cult
CO2 is no more a pollutant than is H2O. It is 0.004 of the atmosphere. If it increased by five times, the only difference you’d notice would be thriving plant life.
This is easily solved by the US leaving the UN, kicking them out of the US, and by the shipboard hanging for Piracy, of any UN operative that attempts to collect Tribute from a US Flagged vessel.
Make the UN building in New York a new Trump hotel.
Is this a “good tariff” ?, I’ve lost track.
What does that mean moron, I mean Marron?
Agreed. We now have a President that is looking out for Americans, not some globo-homo pansy like Barry or a corrupt dementia patient like Joe.
HOW ABOUT REMOVING THE UN FROM THE USA & STOP FUNDING THEM
Our response should be very simple...bar any ship paying this tax from entering US waters.
And ban any organization promoting this from exhaling CO2 in the USA because of Global Worming..
it’s a joke, you douche-nozzle
How about...when will some of you learn that CO2 is NOT a pollutant?
I get it.
bump
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