Attorney General Steve Marshall is trying to stop the Biden administration's plans to impose hefty international regulations on plastic production, claiming that incoming President-elect Donald Trump should instead negotiate an international treaty.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Marshall joined several other states in demanding the State Department halt ongoing attempts to enter into an international agreement with the United Nations (UN) to regulate American-made plastics. Marshall said any agreement “will impose legal obligations on American manufacturers across the country and in our States.”
The UN’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee will soon meet in South Korea to negotiate an international, legally binding treaty to address plastic pollution before the end of the year.
“The will of the American people is clear: the failed policies of the Biden-Harris administration are for the history books,” Marshall said. “It’s time their administration stand-down, and not tie the hands of President Trump, simply to pacify a few of their voters, especially when it was abundantly clear that Americans want Trump leadership in the White House.”
Led by Norway and Rwanda, 66 countries and the European Union say they want to address the total amount of plastic on Earth by controlling plastic design, production, consumption and what happens at the end of its life.
Attendees will debate whether to reduce or eliminate single-use plastics, resolve whether to end the use of hazardous chemicals in plastics and decide whether these steps will be mandated or merely encouraged.
In the letter, the state attorneys general argued that Trump’s new cabinet should make the final decision before locking the his administration into a Biden-focused treaty for the next four years.
“President Trump won the 2024 election,” the letter reads. “Now, after the election, you should not negotiate or enter an international agreement relating to regulating American-made plastics. American chemistries are among the world’s safest, cleanest, and most productive. Negotiating or entering this agreement now disrespects the will of the people. There is no rush — and so the State Department should demur until President Trump is able to confirm his appointees to step in to this important work. Depending on the final agreement’s language, it likely will impose legal obligations on American manufacturers across the country and in our States.”
It continues, “The American people have repeatedly elected President Trump in part because of his opposition to international agreements that harm Americans and empower global elites. In his successful 2016 and 2024 campaigns, President Trump promised to withdraw from the disastrous Paris Climate Accord. Keeping his campaign promises during his first term, President Trump withdrew America from the Paris agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Iran nuclear deal. President Trump understands that Americans want to be governed by elected officials in the United States, not unelected bureaucrats in foreign countries.”
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