The US House of Representatives has approved a new bill that would effectively prevent US carriers from participating in the EU’s controversial Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
On Thursday, the House approved an amendment to the ‘Transportation, Housing & Urban Development Appropriations Bill’ that would prevent the US Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from using funds to impose the ETS on US airlines. This action follows the House’s approval of legislation that would prohibit US airlines from paying ETS charges.
The trade body representing US carriers, Airlines for America (A4A), welcomed the move.
“We commend… the House leadership for taking further action to protect US airlines and our customers from this unlawful tax that is an egregious regulatory overreach, a violation of U.S. sovereignty and a clear cash grab to offset European debt,” said A4A’s President & CEO, Nicholas Calio.
“We appreciate the House recognising that this unilateral approach is wrong and will do nothing to improve the environment. We urge the Senate to take similar action, and we also encourage the administration to file a legal challenge, forcing the EU to work toward a global sectoral approach through the International Civil Aviation Organisation.”
The bill still has to pass through the US Senate and receive presidential approval, but its move through the House of Representatives is further evidence of the strong opposition to the ETS.
The US is one of several countries to have voiced concerns over the tax, which is considered by many states to be a breach of countries’ sovereignty, and a revenue-raising effort by cash-strapped EU countries. China and India have already told their airlines to withhold carbon data submissions, while the Chinese government has also placed a ban on orders on large Airbus jets in retaliation. It has also indicated that it may impose retaliatory charges against European carriers flying to China.
IATA has also been vocal in its opposition to the ETS, but speaking in Beijing recently the airline body’s Director-General & CEO, Tony Tyler, warned all parties to avoid a trade war.
“Sustainability should unite the world with common purpose, not divide it with affronts to sovereignty that risk a trade war, a war that nobody wants and from which no winner can emerge. Certainly no airline – European or otherwise – should be a target for retaliation because European governments are acting extra-territorially,” Tyler said.
