By Florida state Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez and state Rep. Toby Overdorf
This past month, just hours after President Donald Trump was sworn in, he immediately got to work, executing his day one promises and detailing his plans to put America first.
Key among them is leveling the playing field with foreign countries through tariffs. Through his foreign policy efforts, Trump will work to unleash American businesses so that they can fairly compete — and prosper.
We believe that this approach should apply to foreign pollution, chiefly China’s. Given the president’s comments at his inauguration, we know he agrees.
“The United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes — with impunity,” Trump declared at his inauguration rally.
Foreign pollution has for far too long been overlooked, both as something that undermines American jobs and that degrades our environment.
China is by far the world’s largest polluter, accounting for more than 30% of global carbon emissions. And worse, China’s extreme pollution is intentional.
The Chinese Communist Party subsidizes its exports by refusing to impose or enforce reasonable environmental and labor standards, standards that are already required of the world’s top producing economies. This comes as no surprise considering that China is aggressively pursuing control of the world’s supply chain as part of its strategy to undercut the United States.
Meanwhile, the United States has made incredible strides to reduce carbon emissions. In the past 15 years, we have reduced carbon emissions more than any other country in the world, and our economy is 44% more carbon-efficient than the world average.
While Americans have invested in new technologies and innovations that effectively and meaningfully reduced our impact on the environment, foreign polluters ignore the global standards and face no consequences. They continue to manufacture goods at cheap prices, dumping products into the global market that make it difficult for American companies to compete.
For decades, our own trade policy has enabled foreign polluters to operate under loose standards and thereby maintain an advantage against American businesses.
Instead, we ought to reward United States businesses for their innovative practices with trade policies that hold foreign polluters to the same standards. Such changes would bolster domestic manufacturing, generate good-paying jobs and reduce dependence on imports from China and Russia.
We’re grateful to hear the president’s plans to put America first, and we hope you are too.
Last year, the Florida Legislature sent a memorial to Congress, urging senators and representatives to enact policies that hold China and other foreign countries accountable for their pollution.
Here in the Sunshine State, we care about our natural resources, environment, economy and way of life. Florida has made significant strides to uphold these values. We’ve passed legislation to dedicate a permanent source of funding for land management, land conservation and water quality improvements. The Legislature has also made significant investments in efforts to restore the Everglades, expand Florida’s Wildlife Corridor and strengthen resilience against climate impacts.
These efforts ensure that Floridians can prosper for many generations to come. But China and Russia stand in the way. For the welfare of all Americans, the United States should take a proactive stance to hold the world’s greatest polluters accountable and level the playing field for American businesses.
State Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Miami, represents Senate District 40, which includes Monroe County and parts of Miami-Dade. State Rep. Toby Overdorf, R-Palm City, represents House District 85, which includes parts of Martin and St. Lucie counties. This opinion piece was originally published by the Sun Sentinel, which is a media partner of The Invading Sea. Banner photo: A power plant releasing emissions in China (iStock image).
Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here. To support The Invading Sea, click here to make a donation. If you are interested in submitting an opinion piece to The Invading Sea, email Editor Nathan Crabbe at ncrabbe@fau.edu.
