The plan working its way through the United States Congress (the Waxman-Markey bill) would initially give away 85% of the permits, impose a complex set of regulatory policies, and allow companies to buy CO2 offsets (e.g., by paying for the planting of trees) instead of reducing their emissions or buying permits. Such complexities make it impossible to compare the impact of CO2 policies among countries, which in turn would invite those who want to protect domestic jobs to argue for higher tariff levels.
更为糟糕的是，“总量管制和排放交易”系统在实际操作中不仅仅是通过竞价拍卖来发放牌照。例如，美国国会通过实行一个复杂的立法政策，要求相关企业通过抵消二氧化碳的排放量（例如，栽种一定数量的树木的做法），来获得85%的排放执照。如此复杂的系统将无法和其他国家的排放执照的费用加以比较。这样就会给那些想要保护本国就业机会的国家提供一定的借口，实施对外来产品的关税。