California’s aggressive environmental agenda has long been presented as a state-level experiment. But when the state regulates the ships carrying goods into America, the financial consequences do not stop at the California border.
A controversial California Air Resources Board regulation governing ocean-going vessels at berth is now facing renewed scrutiny in Washington, after the Trump administration moved to give Congress a formal opportunity to review the federal waiver that allowed California to enforce the rules.
The stakes are substantial. California’s two largest container ports — Los Angeles and Long Beach — sit at the center of one of the most important supply-chain corridors in the nation. When the cost of moving goods through those ports rises, businesses have little choice but to account for those expenses somewhere.
