Clean Competition Act

The Clean Competition Act (S. 4355) proposes a "carbon border adjustment" system designed to penalize high-polluting manufacturing while rewarding cleaner production. Starting in 2024, the bill would impose a tax on both domestic manufacturers and importers if their production processes exceed a specific threshold of greenhouse gas emissions. These rules would initially target energy-intensive industries such as fossil fuels, petrochemicals, steel, and paper, with the emissions threshold lowering each year to encourage companies to adopt greener technologies.

For everyday citizens, this bill aims to protect American jobs by ensuring that domestic companies following strict environmental standards are not undercut by cheaper, high-polluting foreign competitors. While the policy could lead to price adjustments for certain industrial goods, the revenue collected from these taxes would be used to fund a grant program. This program would provide financial support to help American factories modernize their equipment and transition to "best-in-class" technology to reach net-zero emissions.