EXCLUSIVE: Ashley Hinson calls to block EU climate rules driving up Iowa energy costs

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) is escalating criticism of the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), warning the policy would raise costs for Iowa families and impose foreign regulations on American businesses.

“For too long, woke green energy mandates have driven up costs for Iowa families, and the last thing American businesses need is to be subject to foreign regulations that drive up costs throughout the supply chain,” Hinson exclusively told the Washington Reporter. “The EU should end these mandates now.”

The comments add to a growing push by Republicans who argue the EU’s climate and supply chain mandates threaten U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and President Donald Trump’s energy dominance agenda.

CSDDD would require large companies doing business in Europe to comply with extensive environmental and supply chain standards. Republicans argue the directive would effectively export European regulations into the United States and increase compliance costs throughout the economy.

Hinson has increasingly positioned herself as the GOP’s leading voice on affordability and domestic manufacturing issues. The Iowa Republican has repeatedly focused on inflation, supply chain resilience, biofuels, and efforts to lower energy and transportation costs for Iowa families and farmers.

A senior Republican Senate source familiar with the Iowa race told the Reporter that Hinson’s focus on affordability is one reason Senate Republicans strongly support her candidacy.

“Ashley never stops fighting to lower costs for Iowa families,” the source said. “That’s why Republicans across the Senate see her as someone who could walk into the Senate on day one and immediately become a leader on affordability, energy, and agricultural issues.”

National Republicans have rallied behind Hinson as their preferred Senate candidate in Iowa, viewing her as a strong fit for a state where energy prices, agriculture, and manufacturing remain central political issues.

The CSDDD issue has also become part of a broader Republican effort to push back on what lawmakers describe as foreign-driven economic mandates. Earlier this year, Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) warned the CSDDD could “jack up energy prices in the United States,” according to an earlier Reporter story.

Other Republicans, including Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), have similarly argued the EU’s regulatory agenda could undermine American competitiveness and increase costs for consumers and businesses.

Republicans believe those arguments are increasingly resonating with voters still frustrated by inflation and high energy costs.