The Backstage of Shipping: The Collision of Trump, Mitsotakis, and Shipowners over the Carbon Tax
shipping carbon tax – Trump and Mitsotakis: International shipping is located at a critical crossroads, with Athens being transformed into a field of a fierce diplomatic and economic confrontation. At the center lies the proposed carbon tax of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a move that threatened to blow into the air the balances between the Greek government, the European Union, and the powerful domestic shipowning community.
«DO NOT DARE TO VOTE FOR “NET ZERO”» TRUMP IS ALLEGED TO HAVE SAID
Everything started from the commitments of Kyriakos Mitsotakis towards Ursula von der Leyen. Athens, wanting to
appear as a pioneer in the green transition of the EU, had given promises that Greece would over-vote (vote in favor of) the “Net Zero” framework and the imposition of the pricing of pollutant emissions. However, this stance caused the immediate and angry reaction of the Union of Greek Shipowners.
The president, Melina Travlou, expressing the whole of the sector, appeared troubled with the governmental handlings. The Greek shipowners warned that such a tax would cause irreparable damage to the competitiveness of Greek shipping, which constitutes the basic pillar of the national economy, favoring at the same time the foreign competitors.
The situation was complicated dramatically when Donald Trump entered into the game. With his characteristic interventions, Trump called the nations to down-vote (vote against) the carbon tax, characterizing it as a “global green tax scam.” The meeting of the Greek Prime Minister with Trump in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on October 13, 2025, which was sealed by a much-discussed handshake, appears that it was hiding an intense backstage.
The information reports that the message of Trump was clear and imperative: “Do not dare to vote yes.” This development highlighted for one more time the tendency of Kyriakos Mitsotakis to want to appear as the “most advanced student” of the European agenda, a strategy that leads him often to political blunders and diplomatic deadlocks. His obsession to identify himself absolutely with the dictates of Brussels, ignoring the domestic particularities or the international geopolitical realignments, has cost him repeatedly.
A characteristic example constitutes his hasty stance on the issue of de-lignitization, which left the country exposed to the energy crisis, but also the premature commitments on issues of foreign policy, which often needed to be revoked under the pressure of events.
The Prime Minister was found in a terrible political impasse. From one side the pressures of Von der Leyen for European solidarity and from the other the wrath of the shipowners and the explicit prohibition from Trump. Finally, the solution was given on October 17, 2025, during the last day of the MEPC Summit in London.
With a middle-way (compromise) solution, the member-states decided on the temporary postponement of the adoption of the framework for one year. This development allowed Mitsotakis to avoid the rift with Trump and shipowners, shifting the taking of the painful decisions for the future.
