Biden's angered allies

Presented by JBS USA:

Dec 02, 2022 View in browser   By Debra Kahn , Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang Presented by JBS USA THE WEEK THAT WAS The economy has to keep chugging. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images TOUGH CHOICES — International cooperation versus boosting domestic industry. Unions versus the economy. Energy security versus being tough on Russia. The Biden administration is facing the political tensions inherent in sustainability head on. President Joe Biden backed a compromise deal Congress reached Thursday that imposes a contract for railroad workers, averting a planned strike that would disrupt food, water and energy supplies — costing an estimated $2 billion per day. Not only did he go against his labor-union bona fides by urging Congress to intervene, the deal also doesn't include paid sick leave — frustrating unions that were using the threat of a strike as leverage to get a better deal. "I know that many in Congress shared my reluctance to override the union ratification procedures, but in this case, the consequences of a shutdown were just too great for working families all across the country," Biden said in a statement after Thursday's Senate vote. And Biden smoothed Europe's ruffled feathers over the Inflation Reduction Act's incentives for domestic electric vehicle and clean energy manufacturing, which France and the European Union have complained violates international trade law. In a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, Biden made "no apologies" for the legislation, but acknowledged "glitches," declaring the U.S. "never intended to exclude" allies who were cooperating with Washington. He also suggested there were "tweaks we can make" to satisfy allies, as Jonathan Lemire and Kelly Hooper report . Macron toned down his rhetoric after the meeting, going from "this is super-aggressive for our business people" to "we share the same vision and the same willingness." A solution might involve giving automakers more time to meet the domestic-content requirements, POLITICO's Doug Palmer writes . Next up: helping the E.U. land a deal to cap the price they'll pay for Russian oil. It could backfire: Russia could just decide to cut off exports altogether, straining supplies and sending prices soaring. And if the cap is too high, it won't do anything anyway. The Biden administration is trying to balance concerns by winning over Eastern European countries, which are pushing for a tighter cap to squeeze Moscow harder, our E.U. colleagues report .   A message from JBS USA: What food producers bring to the table should sustain families—and our planet—for generations. That's why, at JBS, we are investing heavily in achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. By prioritizing sustainable food production today, we're able to help ensure a thriving food system for all. Learn More   WASHINGTON WATCH John Kerry and EPA Administrator Michael Regan engaging in diplomacy. | AP BUREAUCRATS' REVENGE — There's an important imaginary number that came out last month: the "social cost of carbon," the price the feds can use to calculate the benefits of climate rules. Where it came from is also significant: EPA, rather than the White House, which is almost a year late in releasing an updated figure and hasn't said when it will put one out, Jean Chemnick writes for POLITICO's E&E News. EPA last month leapfrogged a White House working group — by not only releasing its own metric, but by going huge in the process. The agency's estimate of $190 in damage for every ton of carbon emitted more than triples the White House's interim value of $51. It's not clear what exactly is going on between EPA and the White House. One former member of the White House working group, Columbia University economist Noah Kaufman, argued recently that cost-benefit analyses as a whole are ill-suited for climate change because the damages are spread across populations with wildly different economies. But climate advocates are excited about what the number means for upcoming rules, including one on methane emissions from oil and gas and another for fossil-fueled power plants. POLITICAL PLASTICITY — At least some Democrats are thinking plastics legislation will have a chance next year in a split Congress. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced a bill Thursday to curb permitting of new and expanded plastic production, including chemical recycling facilities, which industry is extremely bullish on , as Jordan reported earlier this week. They're taking a second swing after their Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2021 failed to gain traction this session. A spokesperson for Huffman said the sponsors are looking to gain support in the lame duck before reintroducing the bill next session. The American Chemistry Council is predictably opposed, calling it an "assault on U.S. manufacturing that threatens every American's way of life." Environmentalists are hoping it will nudge the U.S. to take a stronger line in U.N. plastics treaty negotiations starting in Uruguay this week. "The spirit and directive of the Protecting Communities Against Plastics Act ... is precisely what the U.S. should be bringing to the negotiations for a legally binding global instrument," Graham Hamilton, the U.S. policy officer at the environmental group Break Free From Plastics, said in an email. SUSTAINABLE FINANCE ESG WARS, EPISODE XXII – The world's biggest asset manager is getting the cold shoulder from the Sunshine State. The office of Florida's finance chief, Jimmy Patronis, announced Thursday that its treasury department would divest about $2 billion from BlackRock. The move is the latest in a series of divestments by Republican state officials looking to punish the firm over its embrace of sustainable investing policies that they say are meant to advance a "woke agenda." Using the state's money "to fund BlackRock's social-engineering project isn't something Florida ever signed up for," Patronis said in a statement. "It's got nothing to do with maximizing returns and is the opposite of what an asset manager is paid to do." BlackRock said in a statement that it has delivered "strong returns" to state taxpayers in recent years. "We are disturbed by the emerging trend of political initiatives like this that sacrifice access to high-quality investments and thereby jeopardize returns, which will ultimately hurt Florida's citizens. Fiduciaries should always value performance over politics," the asset manager said. Allison has more here .   A message from JBS USA:   YOU TELL US Happy Friday! Who's your pick for the World Cup? Don't say the Netherlands. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott , deputy editor Debra Kahn , and reporters Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang. Reach us at gmott@politico.com , dkahn@politico.com , jwolman@politico.com and aprang@politico.com . Want more? You can have it. Sign up for the Long Game . Four days a week and still free. That's sustainability! WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — The NYT interviews Canada's environment and climate change minister on his evolution from activist to insider. — After Bob Iger's return, Florida lawmakers are considering restoring Disney's special-district privileges, the FT reports . — Vermont's dairy farmers are turning to shrimp, saffron and beer in the face of climate change, WaPo writes .   A message from JBS USA: As a food company committed to feeding larger needs, at JBS we believe in sustainable food production. There's nothing more important than ensuring that our planet can continue to feed us all long into the future. Because of that, we're leading the industry in change, targeting 2040 to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and investing over $1B to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, our emissions. In doing so, we're setting a new standard for food production—one that allows sustainable practices, quality products, and affordable prices to go hand in hand. It's our way of bringing more to the table. Learn More     Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman Allison Prang @AllisonPrang   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.