“Our negotiators had never seen this before in any international talks,” said one European official, who had spoken to negotiators. “People being summoned to the U.S. Embassy in London — intimidation, threats of cessation of business, threats of family members losing visas.”
Another European Commission official added that diplomats returned home rattled after the meetings: “We had feedback from a number of people involved in the negotiations about the pressure they faced.”
Since Donald Trump’s return to office, the administration has sought to undermine global climate policy and promote U.S. fossil fuel interests. The president has called efforts to combat global warming a “con job.” He was particularly enraged about the maritime emissions effort, saying it would hit American shippers with unwarranted taxes.
The International Maritime Organization is a U.N. agency that regulates the world’s shipping industry; measures taken there are enforced by its 176 member states — almost every nation on Earth with a coastline. The EU is not a member, but the European Commission and the vast majority of EU countries had been an early supporter of the carbon tax measure.
The U.S. strategy was laid out publicly ahead of the meeting, with a press release signed by the U.S. secretaries of state, transportation and energy. On top of threats of tariffs, port fees and visa restrictions on crews, the U.S. said it would also look at “sanctions on officials sponsoring activist-driven climate policies.”
Only two EU members broke from the bloc: major maritime countries Cyprus and Greece, with the latter claiming its choice had nothing to do with U.S. pressure.