Last Friday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee told a group at the University of Washington that “we want to make the Washington cap and trade program less costly.”

On its face, this seems to be a giant turn in the right direction for a governor that has consistently pursued policies that are detrimental to the ag economy in the state. But then he continued on and explained just how he wants to make it less costly … and that is where his logic gets downright weird.

Governor Inslee wants to do two basic things: 1.) Force the oil companies to eat the cost of carbon compliance and not pass it along to consumers and then 2.) Join with California and Quebec in their carbon auction markets.

Inslee blames the oil companies for the nation’s highest gas prices because they had the audacity to pass along the cost of compliance to the end user. And somehow, he believes the cost of carbon credits will go down if he increases competition for those credits.

Governor Inslee, it is time to stop grandstanding and actually address the disaster that has occurred in the implementation of the Washington Cap and Trade program. The law explicitly exempts production agriculture from bearing the burden of compliance. You know this and yet continue to illegally force agricultural interests to pay the carbon costs associated with their fuel use.

This is illegal, in violation of the intent of the legislature and devastating to an agricultural economy that is facing nearly unbearable price and production pressures.

Governor Inslee, you can take action to reduce the cost of your Cap and Trade program today … direct the Department of Ecology to immediately publish an emergency rule that implements the law.

Stop forcing agricultural producers to pay this tax and refund the millions of dollars you have already extorted from them.

It’s just that simple.

The Far West Agribusiness Association is a regional trade association that represents agricultural retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers of essential crop input products in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Nevada.

Craig Smith

Executive Director

Far West Agribusiness Association

Weiser, Idaho