Cap and trade

Politicians want to limit pollution by imposing a cap and trade system on the country. They basically cap the amount of pollution permitted and allow companies to trade for the credits to pollute. If I'm a company that pollutes, I have two options. I can buy credits so I can pollute or I can buy technology that prevents the pollution so I don't need as many credits.

There is a flaw to this. If other countries do not cap and trade or tax pollution, it becomes cheaper to build/pollute overseas and ship the finished products here. Take something as simple as gasoline. The cap and trade system requires the refineries to buy credits because making gasoline is polluting. However, shipping the finished product to the US from an overseas refinery does not require the purchase of credits.

Loopholes like this end up shipping manufacturing jobs overseas to someplace where the production of the finished product is cheaper due to multiple factors like cheap labor, fewer regulatory burdens, and unnecessary carbon credits.

Perhaps we should just tax gasoline/coal/natural gas and tax the goods of any country that does not have a sufficient tax on their carbon resources.

This would level the playing field and make the rules easy for everyone. It would also promote green energy production and fuel efficiency.