The Customs Bill: an unacceptable barrier to climate action

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) warns that Section 912(b)(15) of the Customs Bill would hinder climate mitigation by preventing trade agreements from requiring changes to U.S. law regarding global warming. CIEL argues this would leave domestic policies vulnerable to trade challenges, weaken U.S. bargaining power in UNFCCC and CITES negotiations, and block the use of trade agreements to phase out fossil fuel subsidies or promote green technologies, specifically citing risks to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and U.S.-China climate cooperation.

• Section 912(b)(15) of the Customs Bill seeks to amend the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act (TPA) to prevent trade agreements from requiring changes to U.S. law or creating obligations for the United States concerning global warming or climate change.
• The provision would limit the ability of the United States to protect its own climate mitigation efforts from trade-based attacks and hinder the clarification of existing agreements to ensure space for climate action.
• The Customs Bill is expected to create uncertainty in international climate negotiations, such as those within the UNFCCC and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), thereby reducing U.S. bargaining power.
• The amendment would prevent the United States from using trade agreements as a tool to promote low-carbon technologies and energy efficiency, potentially undermining objectives in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
• The provision would block the use of trade agreements to fulfill international commitments to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, a goal previously agreed upon by G20 and G7 leaders.
• The document highlights a history of trade rules being used to challenge climate measures, citing U.S. WTO challenges against India's solar programme and China's wind power incentives, as well as EU and Indonesian challenges to U.S. renewable fuel standards.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2015). The Customs Bill: an unacceptable barrier to climate action. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CIEL-Policy-Brief-The-Customs-Bill-and-Climate-Change-July-2015.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. The Customs Bill: an unacceptable barrier to climate action. 2015. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CIEL-Policy-Brief-The-Customs-Bill-and-Climate-Change-July-2015.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=The Customs Bill: an unacceptable barrier to climate action |date=July 2015 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CIEL-Policy-Brief-The-Customs-Bill-and-Climate-Change-July-2015.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2015customs, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{The Customs Bill: an unacceptable barrier to climate action}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2015}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CIEL-Policy-Brief-The-Customs-Bill-and-Climate-Change-July-2015.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }