AISI: The Environment Is a Trade Issue - Why Carbon Tariffs Are Needed

The American steel industry is the backbone of the US economy and produces the cleanest steel in the world. Of the major steel-producing countries, the United States has the lowest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per ton of steel produced and the lowest energy intensity. Chinese steel production, by contrast, creates carbon emissions that are twice as high as emissions from American steel production, and steel production in India has even higher emissions intensity. In fact, in 2019 imported steel accounted for 11 million more metric tons of CO2 emissions than if the steel had been produced at average US emissions levels.

Not only do American steel producers make the cleanest steel in the world, we also enable other industries to reduce their carbon footprints. According to a January 2022 report by McKinsey& Co., steel is the only material critical to all low-carbon technologies. Wind and renewable energy systems, zero-emission electric vehicles, electric grid transmission, hydrogen production, and carbon capture systems all depend on steel. For example, steel comprises over 70% of the weight of a typical wind turbine, and each new megawatt of solar power requires between 35 to 45 tons of steel.