France wants a ‘carbon tax’ on EU imports

TO READ ARTICLE ON ECONOMIC TIMES OF INDIA CLICK HERE

NEW DELHI/PARIS: In a dampener for India, the French government is set to insist that the European Union impose a carbon tax on imports from countries such as India which are supposed to have " low environmental standards".

EU is India’s single-largest trading partner, accounting for over 20% of its exports, and New Delhi has said that any such measure would be another form of protectionism, something India has been opposing actively ahead of climate talks in Copenhagen.

A senior French official told TOI in Paris that a consensus was emerging in EU for such a tax, hastening to add that the move was not directed at India. ‘‘ India is doing its bit and is represented by tough negotiators who have sounded convincing in explaining India’s stand,’’ the official said.


French move on carbon tax protectionism: UK

The carbon tax proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and backed by EU is meant to be a punitive option for countries which show no concern for climate change issue, said a highly-placed official in France’s government, who is also associated with functioning of the French mission in Brussels.

Sarkozy has been insisting domestically that countries have to respect the “rules of carbon emission reduction to be able to export to France” , the driving force behind EU. He has found powerful supporters in Germany and Italy.

Britain, however, has described as “protectionism” the move which could result in Indian exporters having to buy pollution permits to trade with EU. Sarkozy is in process of formulating a plan for imposing a carbon tax even on domestic industries to deal with climate change and believes that an import tax on goods on EU’s borders would complement the domestic initiative.

Admitting that India looked upon this tax as detrimental to international trade, the French official said the tax, as and when it comes into force, wouldn’t be an across-theboard phenomenon but used just as an incentive for countries which took interest in cutting down carbon emissions.

A top official of French government in Paris said France was aware of the constraints India was working under, including recent outrage in the country over the money ($1.4 trillion as per some estimates) stashed away in tax havens.