In January, European leaders suggested that, to sell their goods in Europe, companies from the U.S., China, India and other countries should be forced to purchase emissions permits in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme. Although the U.S. trade representative criticized this proposal, legislation being considered in the U.S. Senate — the Lieberman-Warner bill — would have a similar effect, applying a carbon tax to imports from countries that do not cap their emissions.

The idea behind such protectionism is to create a “level playing field” — where European and American producers are not disadvantaged by their self-imposed restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions. But instead of leveling the playing field, this game would artificially make all players one-legged and one-armed. The benefits of trade would be replaced by losses in consumer welfare and environmental degradation.

Whereas the beneficiaries of liberalization are widely dispersed, the beneficiaries of trade restrictions are concentrated and tend to be very effective in lobbying national governments to “protect” their business from competition, especially when supported by moralists, such as environmentalists, who claim that such protections benefit the earth.

Thus, Greens, big business and organised labor unite. The Lieberman-Warner bill is endorsed not only by major Green groups but also by electricity providers and their associated trade unions. Similarly, various European trade unions have applauded calls for punitive trade measures against non-EU competitors.

But in reality, it is far more moral to support liberalization. Trade barriers of any kind, including “green” subsidies, tariffs and quotas, harm both consumers and producers. They artificially increase costs, leading to unnecessary waste of scarce natural and human resources. Consumers and producers spend more to purchase the same goods and services, so have less to invest in new technologies or to save for the future.

Although some claim that trade barriers would help the environment, they are actually counterproductive. They favor the status quo by rewarding inefficient producers and thus delaying the adoption of cleaner, resource-saving technologies.

Consider bananas. These could be grown in the cold climates of Finland, Canada, and Russia. But to do so would be far more costly than growing them in warm places, and then exporting them to consumers around the world. Which is why they are grown in places such as Costa Rica and the Ivory Coast. As a result bananas are less expensive and resources are used more sustainably.

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