October 1, 2009 2:23PM 

# A Novel Interpretation of “Green Tariffs” 

By [Sallie James](https://www.cato.org/people/sallie-james) 

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[Here’s](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/business/global/01tariff.html) a nice follow up to my [blog post](https://www.cato.org/2009/09/29/finally-a-pro-trade-proposal-on-climate-change/) on Tuesday: firms importing solar panels to the United States face a $70 million bill because of unpaid duties.

It seems to me that a government truly concerned about global warming–putting aside the merits of that position–would want to encourage the adoption of solar panels, including by keeping them as cheap as possible. Nor, I would have thought, is this the time to add more fuel to the fire that is starting to characterize the U.S. trade relationship with China. There’s plenty enough [fuel](https://www.cato.org/2009/09/12/obama-to-impose-tariff-on-chinese-tires/) for that [already](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=amF6XYOdOhig).

##### Related Tags 

[Energy and Environment](https://www.cato.org/research/energy-environment), [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) 

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