U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk recently said that the U.S is talking with Canada, Australia, and the EU about reaching an agreement to eliminate tariffs on wind, solar, and other energy related technologies. The goal of such an agreement would be to spur their use by taking away one of the barriers to wider adoption by lowering their price. Reaching such an understanding would speed up trade on environmental goods without having to wait for the outcome of the notoriously slow Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks. The Doha round began in 2000 with discussions on trade in agricultural and services. Green technology talks have been taking place in earnest since 2008. It is normal for smaller agreements like the one the U.S. is pushing to proliferate before comprehensive and over-arching agreements like Doha can be crafted. It is extremely hard to reach agreement among so many countries. Deals between a few nations are often much easier to conclude and can be implemented sooner and with greater ease.

According to Bloomberg News, the EU and the US proposed eliminating trade barriers for 43 products ranging from thermostats to wind turbine and boiler parts. While seemingly disparate and small scale, total trade in these kinds of products topped $600 billion in 2006. Also in the proposal was a call for a round of broader tariff cuts for environmental goods and an easing of investment rules for environmental services. “We think it only makes sense to make the trade of those goods more open,” Kirk said at a Washington event on patent protections. “We think it is important enough” that it could move ahead on its own, he said.

Spurring trade in green technologies and related goods would help accomplish the Obama administration’s goal of doubling exports over the next five years.

- Justin Manger