I call on the EU to collect these taxes:
1 – the difference between wage costs in product that is imported versus wage costs of an equivalent product manufactured locally is unfair competition. I say tax it – and then send half that money back to the workers of China. So if a bike imported from China costs 25 euro in labor costs to manufacture, and an equivalent bike would cost 225 euro to produce locally, I say tax the bike for 200 euro, and send 100 euro back to the workers China.
What would be the argument against this? We’d give the workers of China free money!
2 – collect tax on non-renewable resources used to produce an imported good, any imported good, and use ALL that tax strictly reinvest (and not use it for anything else) in renewable energy, resources and infrastructures, locally. Simple – if a fish is fished near Norway, and that fish is shipped to China, refrigerated all the way, and then sent back to Norway – and the cost to do in wasting energy resources, the tax the cost in resource waste 1:1 and use that revenue only to develop the absolutely best renewable infrastructures, assets, recycling systems, energy sources we need.
What alternative do we have? Go on like this? Or better “there will be a technological solution down the road!”
Give me a break.