Where Climate and Trade Policy Meet

Columbia Energy Exchange

In passing and signing the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, Congress and the Biden administration infused hundreds of billions of dollars into the energy transition. It was the largest investment in energy and climate in U.S. history.

At the same time, the law left many countries worried over provisions requiring domestic manufacturing, which some see as protectionist. It’s a friction that’s part of ongoing green trade tensions. As other countries implement their own major climate action plans, some include industrial policies that challenge international trade rules and norms.

Two years in, how are other countries responding to the Inflation Reduction Act? Can trade policy catalyze investment in and around clean energy in emerging markets and developing economies? And what does the concept of “friendshoring” mean?

This week host Jason Bordoff talks with Sarah Bianchi about her work in the Biden administration and how climate policy and trade policy intersect.

Sarah is a senior managing director and chief strategist of international political affairs and public policy at Evercore ISI. She is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy and is on the advisory board of CGEP’s new Trade and Clean Energy Transition Program to examine the intersection of climate action, trade policy, national security, and industrial strategy.

She has nearly 30 years of experience in both the public and private sector. Most recently, she served as deputy U.S. trade representative from 2021 to 2024, overseeing critical trading relationships across Asia and Africa. Her portfolio covered all aspects of trade, including the energy transition and the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act.