Cassidy Convenes Louisiana Energy Security Summit, Highlights Louisiana Investments and Future Economic Potential

BATON ROUGE - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) hosted the "Louisiana Energy Security Summit: Unleashing American Abundance in a Changing Global Landscape" at the Capitol Park Museum in Baton Rouge, bringing together leaders from the federal, state, and local government levels, industry, the research community, and elsewhere.

In his keynote address, Cassidy highlighted the geopolitical challenges confronting U.S. manufacturers operating internationally. Adversaries exploit lax environmental and labor standards to gain an unfair trade advantage over American companies.

"We are working to preserve the jobs we have in Louisiana and create more in the future," said Dr. Cassidy. "We can do this by requiring that trade with countries like China be fair, and not allow them to pollute the atmosphere while we're working to clean it."

"The Foreign Pollution Fee Act is a trade policy that rewards U.S. businesses and workers while penalizing foreign polluters. It creates a level playing field for American companies on the global stage. It's a win for American workers, the U.S. economy, our national security, and the environment," added Dr. Cassidy.

The summit featured ten panels which explored protecting U.S. interests from unfair trade practices, Louisiana's low emissions manufacturing advantage, and the role of natural gas in strengthening U.S. geopolitical influence. Panelists included presidents and CEOs from Entergy, First Solar, Buzzi UnicemUSA, Orsted, and Aluminum Technologies, former Trump administration officials, and leaders from Louisiana trade associations and major energy and Fortune 500 companies.

"We have the talent, we have the resources, we have the God-given location here in Louisiana with the Mississippi River, the Gulf, so much pipeline running underneath us, some of the greatest ports in the country, we've got all those tools. We just need to make sure we marry those with good policy," said Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President Will Green. "If we do, we will be unstoppable here in Louisiana."

"This is an energy economy here in Louisiana. We send it out, and we bring it in. It's a manufacturing powerhouse. This state embodies what we can achieve again, if we open our alliances and we shut down our adversaries," said Former Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality James Connaughton.

"There is a market disadvantage for U.S. producers and manufacturers," said Former Energy Deputy Secretary Mark Menezes. "This is basic fairness. As a consumer you have choices to make on products. You can choose a U.S.-made product or something that is imported. The choice is easy. And as a consequence of making that choice you address the fundamental fairness of this, you recognize the importance of the U.S. role, and you incentivize U.S. manufacturers to come back from China."

"Everyone in this room knows China has not relaxed. They have increased production and are flooding the market," said Huntsman Corporation Vice President of Global Communications and Government Affairs Kevin Gundersen. "We have gotten away from [our] competitive advantage, and we have leaned into our disadvantage as a country. I think there needs to be a course correction."

"We already import more than 26 million tons [of cement] per year. All of the countries where we import cement-they don't have all the environmental regulations we do. They don't have all the laws. They don't have all the regulation, so we already have a disadvantage," said Buzzi UnicemUSA President and CEO Massimo Toso. "So we do appreciate the effort by Senator Bill Cassidy and his colleague to put in place a carbon border adjustment mechanism."

"Non-market actors overseas, subsidies, and unfair trade practices make it cheaper to produce goods than companies like ourselves," said CF Industries Vice President for Public Affairs Linda Dempsey. "We've got the best workers and the best standards, but the second piece really is flipping the switch on the trade rules."

"The cheap solar panels that are brought in from China don't have the same standards of which we hold ourselves accountable to creating an unfair blade," said First Solar CEO Mark Widmar. "Between American ingenuity, passion, creativity, and know-how, we can outcompete, but we need fairness."

Background

Cassidy and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced their Foreign Pollution Fee Act to level the playing field with Chinese manufacturing and expand American production.

Earlier this month, he released the 3^rd episode of Bill on the Hill, where he highlights his Foreign Pollution Fee Act and discusses China's growing economy and military coming at the expense of the American worker. After hearing fellow Americans share their concerns, Cassidy presented his plan to address the nexus between economic development, national security, and the environment. His Foreign Pollution Fee Act would even the playing field while holding China accountable.

He penned editorials in Foreign Affairs, The Washington Times, and jointly in the USA Today Network discussing the geopolitical threat that China poses to U.S. global standing. Cassidy also joined Greta Van Susteren on Newsmax to discuss his foreign pollution fee, noting the competitive advantage China receives from intentionally ignoring environmental standards.

Last Spring, the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives unanimously adopted a resolution urging Congress to pursue an industrial manufacturing and trade policy to counter competition from China. Learn more here.

Last Congress, Cassidy released a landmark energy policy outline in response to the Biden administration's assault on domestic energy. The outline details how we can successfully reset U.S. energy policy, including Cassidy's plan for an Energy Operation Warp Speed to cut permitting red tape and unleash domestic energy and manufacturing. In support of this complete vision and in addition to the Foreign Pollution Fee Act, Cassidy led Republican colleagues in opposition to a domestic carbon tax and introduced the first comprehensive judicial reform for permitting bill. He also pushed back on disastrous proposals from the Biden administration to limit development in the Outer Continental Shelf with the introduction of the WHALE Act and the Offshore Energy Security Act of 2023.

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