ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to determine at least in a preliminary way whether environmental-control (EC) charges actually incurred by industry form an essentially "trade-neutral" pattern, or whether they are fundamentally export-biased or import-biased. If US exports are inherently more pollution-intensive than imports, then whatever pattern of environmental policies eventually emerges among the major trading nations will impact disproportionately on US performance in the international market. The capital-cost and depreciation components were derived from estimates of the in-place stock of EC equipment. Use of the foregoing estimates of overall environmental-control loadings by product groups yields a pollution-loading profile of US trade. At the other extreme is the assumption that all countries apply and enforce identical EC norms, which will affect trade flows of individual countries differently depending on their relative pollution intensity.
