When I read about proposals to reduce tariffs on environmental goods and services, my sense is that, assuming trade negotiators can agree on anything these days, this should be a goal that is achievable. On the other hand, subsidies and discriminatory government procurement in the area of clean energy seem to be a much more difficult problem. The latest:
Senator Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat, is calling on the Obama administration to block the use of stimulus funds for a utility-scale wind farm in West Texas that would make use of turbines manufactured largely in China.
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“The idea that stimulus funds would be used to create jobs overseas is quite troubling,” Mr. Schumer reportedly wrote, according to The Associated Press, in a letter to be sent Thursday to Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
Mr. Schumer plans a news conference on Thursday afternoon, in which he will urge the Obama administration to block any stimulus money from financing the proposed wind farm.
Organizers of the project have estimated that more than 2,000 manufacturing jobs would be created in China as a result of the project, while a little over 300 would be created in Texas.
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China’s reputation for blocking foreign access to its own burgeoning clean-energy sector has been fueling anger over the planned project in Texas.
What is really needed is an agreement that covers not just tariffs, but subsidies and government procurement as well. But it's hard to imagine reaching agreement in these areas. It seems clear that a lot of countries want to be the leader in the clean energy industry. Is it really possible that they would agree not to compete, or even to rein in their competition? I see a great deal of trade conflict in clean energy's future.
