Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) is introducing a House resolution denouncing the United Nations and its International Maritime Organization (IMO) for advancing a “Net-Zero Framework” that would establish the world’s first global tax on maritime shipping emissions, warning that the measure would undermine American sovereignty and increase costs for U.S. producers and consumers.
The resolution, to be filed Friday, targets the U.N.-backed International Maritime Organization’s plan to impose a global levy on shipping emissions through its proposed “Net-Zero Framework.” The policy would require vessels to pay into a centralized international fund based on their carbon output, creating what critics describe as an unprecedented global taxation system without representation.
Biggs’s measure asserts that the proposed carbon tax would violate the foundational American principle of “no taxation without representation” while increasing shipping and consumer costs, harming domestic industries, and threatening energy independence.
Under the resolution, the House would formally condemn the U.N. and IMO for advancing a framework that “erodes national sovereignty and harms American economic interests.” It also calls on the president to direct U.S. representatives at the IMO to oppose any such proposal and affirms that no American-flagged vessel or company may be taxed by an international body without congressional approval.
The measure further urges reciprocal U.S. action—including tariffs or restrictions—against nations that attempt to enforce or profit from the tax and reaffirms America’s commitment to free enterprise and energy independence.
“The corrupt, globalist United Nations has no authority to tax the American people or our industries,” Biggs exclusively told Breitbart News. “This proposal is an outrageous attempt by unelected elites to impose economic burdens on sovereign nations under the guise of climate policy. President Trump’s America First policies put the prosperity and independence of our nation above globalist agendas, and Congress must make clear that the United States will never surrender its sovereignty to unelected multinational institutions. We will always defend our right to self-governance.”
The IMO’s proposed “Net-Zero Framework” follows months of deliberation among member states. Earlier this year, the organization agreed to a global carbon tax on shipping emissions of up to $380 per metric ton, with revenues estimated at $10 billion annually for a “net zero fund.” The United States, under the Trump administration, did not participate in the negotiations and has publicly rejected the deal as “blatantly unfair,” vowing to impose retaliatory measures if the policy proceeds.
The IMO, a specialized U.N. agency, aims to make the international shipping industry carbon neutral “by or around 2050,” with interim targets of 20 percent reductions by 2030 and 70 percent by 2040. The global emissions levy would take effect in 2027 if the measure is adopted.
Biggs’s resolution mirrors the Trump administration’s position, asserting that American trade and environmental policy “must be decided by elected officials accountable to the American people, not by unaccountable global bureaucrats.” The resolution directs that copies be sent to the president, the secretaries of State, Energy, and Transportation, and the U.S. delegation to the IMO.
The proposal comes as the IMO meets in London to finalize and vote on the Net-Zero Framework, a plan that would establish the first-ever international climate fee imposed on a single industry, reshaping global trade costs and regulatory standards across maritime shipping.
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