SCOOP: Rep. Andy Barr slams European Union's continued push of CSDDD plan
The European Union is continuing its CSDDD push, which Rep. Andy Barr is pushing against.
Importing European-style regulations into the American energy space could come at a steep price for Americans, Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.) cautioned this week, amid reports that the European Union is moving ahead with its Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
The “last thing America wants to import from Europe is a broken regulatory system that discriminates against energy production and drives up costs,” Barr told the Washington Reporter.
CSDDD’s critics view the measure as a far-reaching climate and supply chain mandate that could drive up costs for Americans and make energy bills more expensive. In contrast with how Europe’s leaders are operating, ““President Trump is Making America Affordable Again by unleashing American energy dominance to bring down costs in the longterm,” Barr said. “We need an all of the above energy approach to win the AI race, grow jobs across industries, and prevent blackouts that have plagued big American cities that have bought into Europe’s green energy regulatory framework.”
For years, Barr — one of President Donald Trump’s top defenders in Congress — has fought for Kentucky’s coal industry and against the excesses of the Democrats’ Green New Deal plans.
Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum previously spoke with the Reporter about the dangers of EU policies that “basically [destroy] their own economies and their own companies.”
“They can do that,” Burgum said. “But they don’t have permission to do that globally.”
Several other Republicans have sounded alarms about the CSDDD and warned that Europe’s regulatory approach has bled into U.S. policy debates.
Rep. French Hill (R., Ar.) and Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) sent a letter to the Department of Treasury earlier this year urging the Trump administration to end CSDDD because it is “untenable and detrimental to global productivity.” The letter pointed out that the CSDDD applies civil liability to American companies.
A Senate source told the Washington Reporter that “it’s shocking that the EU is continuing its crusade to target U.S. energy companies with the CSDDD.”
If this is implemented, it will mean massive costs for Americans, not just for Europeans,” the source continued. “That would be a disaster for the 2026 midterms. The Trump administration has a chance to get a great political win while also lowering energy bills by pressuring the EU to stop this madness.”