Three Democratic lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to either join the push toward a progressive global plastics treaty or step aside and let the more ambitious countries reach an agreement without U.S. support.
Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jeff Merkley and Rep. Jared Huffman, of Rhode Island, Oregon and California, respectively, urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a letter sent Monday “to use our nation’s influence to advance an ambitious agreement that includes real, enforceable commitments to reduce plastic production, phase out chemicals of concern and problematic and avoidable uses of plastics across the full life cycle.”
The State Department’s stance appears to be in direct opposition to the Democrats’ demands.
“Consistent with the Trump Administration’s America First foreign policy, the United States supports an agreement that respects national sovereignty and focuses on reducing plastic pollution without imposing onerous restrictions on producers that would hinder U.S. companies,” a department spokesperson said in an email.
