TRIUMPH: Team Trump Tramples UN Carbon Tax on Shipping

What a bunch of BAD ASSES.

There.

I said it.

Yesterday I told y’all about the ee-ville intentions of an auxiliary arm of the United Nations that regulates international shipping, formulating regulations and rules, the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

It has looked like a done deal for a long, long time.

Meeting at their headquarters in London yesterday to finalize a long-planned 10% worldwide carbon tax on international shipping, called the Net Zero Framework (NZF)…

This tax would have been the first-ever international climate fee for a single industry https://t.co/KKAmqUnZ3G

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 17, 2025

…the IMO ran into fierce and united opposition from the entire Trump cabinet. All that US firepower was trained on the board and member countries not to ratify the tax.

OR ELSE.

And Secretary Rubio had already laid out some pretty specific penalties which were enough to quail the stoutest of netzero believing hearts.

In light of the unexpected ferociousness of the US response, the IMO postponed the vote on the proposal until today. As I said at the time, that wasn’t too surprising either.

If I had an entire, united Trump cabinet coming after me, I’d think twice…maybe three times…and hide while doing it, too.

As shipping expert and military historian (a former West Point instructor, too) Sal Mercogliano said in his podcast update on the throwdown, ‘I can’t tell you what a huge shake-up this is.’

Welp.

What the United States team did between last night and today was masterful. Makes my knees weak with pride.

IMO Delays Vote on Global Shipping Carbon Tax by One Year After U.S. Pressure Campaign

Governments at the International Maritime Organization decided to postpone for one year the adoption of the world’s first global carbon pricing system on shipping at the Extraordinary Session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee in London this week.

The IMO agreed to delay the planned adoption vote on the Net-Zero Framework for one year in a vote Friday due to delay tactics and procedural sabotage by the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Russia and other petrostates at this week’s negotiations. The motion to delay was put forward by Singapore and called to a vote by Saudi Arabia.

The IMO’s delay reveals the fragility of climate action when national politics clash with global regulation. For shipping—a sector that moves 90% of world trade and produces 3% of global emissions—the path to net zero just became longer and far more uncertain.

Heading into this week’s meeting, a clear majority of countries had supported the adoption of the Framework, which was agreed in principle in a vote in April. In April, 63 countries voted yes, including the EU27, Brazil, China, India, Canada, UK, Korea and Japan, versus a minority opposition from 16 oil-producing states.

SCORE!

This is another HUGE win for @POTUS.

Thanks to his leadership, the United States prevented a massive UN tax hike on American consumers that would have funded progressive climate pet projects. Our country will continue to lead the way and put America FIRST.

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) October 17, 2025

Ambassador Waltz chimed in.

Thanks to the strong leadership of @POTUS, @SecRubio, @SecretaryWright, @SecDuffy, and the team here at the US Mission to the UN, the @IMOHQ has backed off its misguided carbon tax vote. This is a shining example of diplomacy at its best—protecting American jobs, standing up for…

— Ambassador Mike Waltz (@USAmbUN) October 17, 2025

…This is a shining example of diplomacy at its best—protecting American jobs, standing up for our industries, and putting AMERICA FIRST against ridiculous climate ideology.

And there are bitter climate cult tears washing across the floors all over the world.

“Crestfallen secretary general, Arsenio Dominguez @IMOSecGen, said: “I don’t have a lot to say to you right now and that doesn’t happen often… Some representatives were seen in tears outside the meeting room after the vote.” @tradewindsnews

Should I send them some tissues? pic.twitter.com/JvwcIS5AWx

— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) October 17, 2025

My friend Captain Konrad is ecstatic.

The entire world order of trade just shifted. There will be history books written about what @SecRubio and @USAmbUN accomplished today.

Yes, it’s that big of a deal. YUGE.

— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) October 17, 2025

There are some incredible anecdotes coming out of the meeting about the power wielded by the combined US assault.

I can’t stop smiling.

I can’t share the details on how @michaelgwaltz & @SecRubio have, in just a few days, organized the greatest opposition to UN policy since the Cold War and blocked this UN Carbon Tax.

I can say it was a knife fight to the end.

“I’ve been in this industry for 30 years and I’ve… https://t.co/nOpG203K7Y

— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) October 17, 2025

…“I’ve been in this industry for 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like it,” one shipping executive told me today. “You just don’t say NO to these guys.  It’s unheard of.” 

It’s unclear who “these guys” are, but I suspect the European families with shipping investments and net wealth that far exceeds Elon’s. 

Absolutely none of the maritime experts I interviewed early this week thought the US could pull this off. Zero. Massive amounts of money, NGO influence, diplomatic threat and media manipulation were behind this… and the American media (except @gCaptain and Fox News) was dead silent. 

And yet Trump did it. 

“That Trump Truth Social post sent shockwaves through the building,” one UN delegate in London told me. “NOBODY expected it. The Secretary General @IMOSecGen looked like a deer in the headlights this morning.” 

Incredible. Simply incredible work by team Trump and a massive blow to the European deep state who planned to use this tax as a slush fund to plug holes in US Aid funding for globalist NGOs.

Promises made. Promises kept! 

That is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read.

For decades, we’ve had nothing but mewling diplomats, careful not to tread on toes even when the right thing, the obvious path, was crystal clear to any rational observer.

Now?

We finally have street fighters in our American corner – in every single corner we need them? There they are.

I don’t ever think I’ve seen anything like it in my lifetime.

It’s like Trump and his entire cabinet eat a bowl of FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! every morning for breakfast, and then bring a bag of snack FIGHT!s to the office to share with the help.

God bless America, it’s something else.

It’s something else.

The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its insane progressive, radical agenda. 

Ed, David, John, and I work hard to continue exposing Democrats’ plans to lead America down a dangerous path. 

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