The United States is increasing pressure on its European allies to weaken or completely roll back regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, part of the Trump administration’s broader attempt to undermine international efforts to tackle climate change.
President Donald Trump has long dismissed concerns about climate change as well as the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, urging European leaders to also abandon their green crusade.
Since his first day in office, Trump has pushed for the U.S. to step back from climate change discussions on the international stage, pulling the country out of the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement for a second time.
The administration also moved to pull the U.S. from discussions with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February, ordering federal scientists to halt work on all climate assessment-related activities.
More recently, Trump and his Cabinet have taken aim at several European Union- and United Nations-backed climate-focused rules and regulations.
While EU leaders have publicly defended these policies, vowing not to roll them back completely, ramped up pressure from the Trump administration appears to have created more wiggle room in some negotiations.
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
Just this week, the Department of Energy sent a letter to EU officials urging the bloc to roll back the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
This directive, set to take effect for some companies in 2027, would require those affected to provide reports on ESG effects and establish liability for ESG violations. The primary aim of the rule is to limit harm to the environment and human rights throughout EU and non-EU supply chains.
Under the current language, companies that fail to comply with the regulations will face a fine of 5% of the company’s global net turnover.
The rule has been heavily criticized by U.S.-based companies, who claim it would cause major barriers to trade between the U.S. and the EU.
“[T]he CSDDD, as it is worded today, poses a significant risk to the affordability and reliability of critical energy supplies for households and businesses across Europe and an existential threat to the future growth, competitiveness, and resilience of the EU’s industrial economy,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright wrote in the letter sent this week, which was cosigned by the Qatari government.
However, while the EU has given no indication that it plans to walk back the directive, European officials appear willing to negotiate some provisions.
Earlier this week, the European Parliament said it would further negotiate changes to the rule during a scheduled vote and hopes to finalize any amendments by the end of the year.
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
The EU is just weeks away from imposing the world’s first large-scale carbon border tariff, much to the chagrin of the Trump administration.
The bloc’s carbon border adjustment mechanism will go into effect in January 2026, with the aim of lowering greenhouse gas emissions associated with its foreign imports.
In early September, Wright said this rule would create “huge legal risks” for U.S. firms selling oil and gas across the pond, threatening trade negotiations established between the administration and the EU during the summer.
“The whole trade talks would fall apart if Europe or the U.S. don’t hold up their end of the deal,” Wright told the Financial Times. “So I think those regulations significantly threaten the ability to implement the trade deal that was agreed to.”
All members of the EU agreed to support plans to modify the carbon tariff in May by exempting any companies that import less than 50 metric tons annually of its covered goods. This change, which was adopted last month, exempts roughly 90% of importers from the carbon fee.
Deforestation ban
The Trump administration is also facing pressure from the U.S. paper and pulp industry to block the EU’s deforestation ban, set to take effect in a matter of months.
The deforestation law, first approved by the EU in June 2023, aims to reduce the number of products consumed in Europe that contribute to deforestation while also lowering carbon emissions and tackling deforestation worldwide.
Under the law, any products made from commodities such as coffee, palm oil, soy, cocoa, cattle, wood, and rubber must not have been imported from recently cleared forests and must not have contributed to forest degradation.
The law, which was delayed last year, was set to take full effect at the end of this year.
EU leaders further moved to soften the rules earlier this week, proposing delaying reporting requirements.
Under the latest proposal, the deforestation ban will still go into effect on Dec. 30, but will offer relief to small operators and larger businesses in low-risk countries, such as the U.S., by not requiring full checks and enforcement for an additional six months to one year, depending on the company’s size.
The European Commission announced it was considering delaying the entire rule by another year earlier this month — a move many liberal members of the European Parliament said was to appease Trump.
International carbon shipping tax
The Trump administration clinched a major win last week by successfully blocking a vote on a carbon tax on the global shipping industry.
The administration had for months said it would impose unfair burdens on the U.S., as it would impose a minimum tax of $100 for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted over the lowest threshold of emissions set. Those that exceed higher thresholds will be forced to pay a $380 fee.
The measure, which was included in a net-zero framework put forth by the International Maritime Organization, had appeared poised to pass.
However, the Trump administration heavily lobbied IMO members to consider punting the vote approving the tax by one year.
On Wednesday, Wright revealed that he called nearly 20 countries, saying the U.S. has “the world’s most influential megaphone by far.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also said she lobbied nations such as Antigua and Jamaica, calling the administration’s efforts to block the vote “all hands on deck.”
As part of this ramped-up pressure, administration officials levied threats against nations that planned to vote in favor of the measure, including imposing tariffs, visa restrictions, and port controls.
Steve Moore, a former economic adviser to Trump, told the Washington Examiner that the administration should continue to use these tactics to further push the EU on other climate-related policies.
TRUMP PREVAILS AGAINST GLOBAL SHIPPING CARBON TAX PLAN, DELAYING VOTE BY A YEAR
“We should basically say we’re out of the United Nations … that puts a lot of pressure on these countries to heed our advice,” Moore said.
“I think that Trump’s stern opposition to these climate change measures is going to force a lot of countries to realize that they’re futile,” he added.
