Business warns against ETS protectionism

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd flagged initial concerns when he warned a business dinner on Monday it could expect tariffs on imports if Australia did not legislate an emissions trading scheme.

"We'd obviously be concerned about that... if they used the ETS as a backdoor method of protection," the business group's acting chief executive Greg Evans told reporters in Canberra.

Governments could use emissions trading schemes as covers for protectionism, which would have dire consequences for Australia, a leading business group has warned.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned Australia's free trade agreements could be jeopardised by the global climate change agenda."That's something that would concern Australia."

One way to defy protectionist measures was to ensure all countries adopted similar climate change policies, including the implementation of import tariffs.

"It would be a cruel irony for Australia, which is basically a free-trading country, for punitive tariffs to be imposed, particularly by economic blocs such as the European Union who have done what they can over the last 50 years to keep our products from their markets," Mr Evans said.