4 US Congress Bills Related to Carbon Border Adjustments in 2023

The briefing analyzes four 2023 U.S. Congressional bills: the PROVE IT Act, which focuses on emissions intensity data; the Foreign Pollution Fee Act, which proposes fees on imports exceeding U.S. emissions averages; the Clean Competition Act, which suggests charges for both domestic and imported goods exceeding benchmarks; and the MARKET CHOICE Act, which proposes a broad carbon tax with border adjustments.

• The Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act would require the Department of Energy to report on the emissions intensity of carbon-intensive goods produced in the U.S. and imported from other countries, covering a wide range of products including aluminum, cement, iron and steel, and solar cells.
• The PROVE IT Act does not impose fees on goods but aims to provide data to policymakers and consumers to allow for comparisons between U.S. and overseas production.
• The Foreign Pollution Fee Act (FPFA) proposes a fee exclusively on imported energy and industrial goods if their exporting country's average emissions intensity is higher than the U.S. average, with the goal of reducing this gap to less than 10% in its third phase.
• The Foreign Pollution Fee Act includes exemptions for countries with free trade agreements with the U.S. (if imports are less than 50% more carbon intensive than the U.S. average) and for members of "International Partnership Agreements" who use equivalent policies to decarbonize.
• The Clean Competition (CCA) Act would apply a carbon intensity charge to both domestic and imported energy-intensive goods that exceed a specific benchmark, starting at a carbon price of $55/metric ton CO2 with annual increases of 5% above inflation.
• The Clean Competition Act would exempt least developed countries and members of "Carbon Clubs" or Climate Clubs, while directing revenues toward domestic decarbonization grants and multilateral climate assistance overseas.
• The MARKET CHOICE Act proposes replacing federal motor vehicle and aviation fuel taxes with a broad greenhouse gas emissions tax starting at $35 per metric ton of CO2 equivalent in 2025, including a border tax adjustment for imports and rebates for exports.
• The MARKET CHOICE Act sets a target for a 20% reduction in annual U.S. CO2 emissions from 2022 levels by 2035, with a mechanism to increase the carbon tax by $4 per metric ton if cumulative emissions targets are exceeded.

APA

World Resources Institute (2023). 4 US Congress Bills Related to Carbon Border Adjustments in 2023. https://www.wri.org/update/4-us-congress-bills-related-carbon-border-adjustments-2023

Chicago

World Resources Institute. 4 US Congress Bills Related to Carbon Border Adjustments in 2023. 2023. https://www.wri.org/update/4-us-congress-bills-related-carbon-border-adjustments-2023.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=4 US Congress Bills Related to Carbon Border Adjustments in 2023 |date=13 December 2023 |url=https://www.wri.org/update/4-us-congress-bills-related-carbon-border-adjustments-2023 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2023congress, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{4 US Congress Bills Related to Carbon Border Adjustments in 2023}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/update/4-us-congress-bills-related-carbon-border-adjustments-2023}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }