Carbon TAX

France wants a 'carbon tax' on EU imports Sachin Parashar , TNN 30 November 2009, 02:00am IST Text Size: | Topics: India France EU Carbon Tax 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 Twitter Facebook Share Email Print Save Comment 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 already made it clear that any such measure would be another form of protectionism, something India has been actively campaigning against ahead of climate talks in Copenhagen. A highly-placed official of the French government told TOI in Paris that there was a consensus emerging in EU for such a tax even though he hastened to add that the move was not directed at India. ``India is doing its bit and it is represented by tough negotiators who have sounded convincing in explaining India's stand,'' the official said. However, the fact is that France and EU want carbon tax as a punitive and fallback option for countries which show no concern for the climate change issue, said the official who is also associated with the functioning of the French mission in Brussels. While the official sought to allay India's fears over such a move, the fact is that French President Nicolas 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 the process of formulating a plan for imposing a carbon tax even on domestic industries to deal with climate change and obviously 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-the-board phenomenon but used just as an incentive for countries which took interest in cutting down carbon emissions. A top official of the French government in Paris said France was aware of the constraints India was working under, including the recent outrage in the country over the money ($1.4 trillion as per some estimates) stashed away in tax havens. "France, in fact, has actively supported the idea of imposing sanctions on banks which do not cooperate on the issue of tax evasions. The G-20 will initiate counter-measures against banks which don't fall in line by March next year. These sanctions will include instructions to not put money in such banks and sever all links with them," said the official. Twitter Facebook Share Print Email Save Comment

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