Park, RyuGyung2025-08-262025-08-262025Park, RyuGyung. 2025. “Is Trade the Enemy of Environment?: Congressional Voting on Environmental Policies after the China Shock.” International Interactions 51 (4): 598–638. doi:10.1080/03050629.2025.2502363.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03050629.2025.2502363https://scholarworks.wm.edu/handle/internal/19645How does trade competition affect support for environmental protection? On the one hand, import shocks can dampen support for environmental protection, as international trade can lead to a race to the bottom or a regulatory chill. On the other hand, import competition can drive ‘dirty’ industries and firms out of business, reducing opposition to pro-environment legislation. The impact of import shocks on environmental protection is thus an empirical question. I leverage a sudden increase in Chinese imports in the United States after the two countries normalized their trade relations. I examine how import shocks experienced by each congressional district affect the pro-environmental score of the district’s representative in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1992 to 2014. My results show that bigger import shocks are positively associated with higher pro-environmental scores of the legislators. The findings suggest that as import shocks decrease the size of dirty industries, it paves the way for the legislators to pursue more pro-environmental policies.en-USArticle