What is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism? (CBAM)
May 2023
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) was published in the Official Journal of the EU. It is a new regulation that will affect companies that export or import products into Europe.
October 2023
New reporting requirements
Since October 2023, CBAM added a significant administrative burden on businesses by requiring them to report on the embedded carbon of their imports on a quarterly and a yearly basis. This obligation applies to any consignments where the value of the goods is equal or greater than €150.
January 2026
The actual tax starts being charged
From 2026, companies will be required to surrender CBAM certificates to cover the embedded emissions of their imports. The price of these certificates will be linked to the ETS price.
Products covered by CBAM
Cement
- 2507 00 80 - Other kaolinic clays
- 2523 10 00 - Cement clinkers
- 2523 21 00 - White Portland cement, whether or not artificially coloured
- 2523 29 00 - Other Portland cement
- 2523 30 00 - Aluminous cement
- 2523 90 00 - Other hydraulic cements
Electricity
- 2716 00 00 - Electrical energy
Fertilisers
- 2808 00 00 - Nitric acid; sulphonitric acids
- 2814 - Ammonia, anhydrous or in aqueous solution
- 2834 21 00 - Nitrates of potassium
- 3102 - Mineral or chemical fertilisers, nitrogenous
- 3105 - Mineral or chemical fertilisers containing two or three of the fertilising elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; other fertilisers; goods of this chapter in tablets or similar forms or in packages of a gross weight not exceeding 10 kg. Except: 3105 60 00 – Mineral or chemical fertilisers containing the two fertilising elements phosphorus and potassium
Iron and Steel
- 72 - Iron and steel. Except: 7202 2 - Ferro-silicon, 7202 30 00 - Ferro-silico-manganese, 7202 50 00 - Ferro-silico-chromium, 7202 70 00 - Ferro-molybdenum, 7202 80 00 - Ferro-tungsten and ferro-silico-tungsten, 7202 91 00 - Ferro-titanium and ferro-silico-titanium, 7202 92 00 - Ferro-vanadium, 7202 93 00 - Ferro-niobium, 7202 99 10 - Ferro-phosphorus, 7202 99 30 - Ferro-silico-magnesium, 7202 99 80 - Other, 7204 - Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots and steel
- 2601 12 00 - Agglomerated iron ores and concentrates, other than roasted iron pyrites
- 7301 - Sheet piling of iron or steel, whether or not drilled, punched or made from assembled elements; welded angles, shapes and sections, of iron or steel
- 7302 - Railway or tramway track construction material of iron or steel, the following: rails, check-rails and rack rails, switch blades, crossing frogs, point rods and other crossing pieces, sleepers (cross-ties), fish- plates, chairs, chair wedges, sole plates (base plates), rail clips, bedplates, ties and other material specialised for jointing or fixing rails
- 7303 00 - Tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, of cast iron
- 7304 - Tubes, pipes and hollow profiles, seamless, of iron (other than cast iron) or steel
- 7305 - Other tubes and pipes (for example, welded, riveted or similarly closed), having circular cross-sections, the external diameter of which exceeds 406,4 mm, of iron or steel
- 7306 - Other tubes, pipes and hollow profiles (for example, open seam or welded, riveted or similarly closed), of iron or steel
- 7307 - Tube or pipe fittings (for example, couplings, elbows, sleeves), of iron or steel
- 7308 - Structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 9406) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge-sections, lock- gates, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, shutters, balustrades, pillars and columns), of iron or steel; plates, rods, angles, shapes, sections, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures, of iron or steel
- 7309 00 - Reservoirs, tanks, vats and similar containers for any material (other than compressed or liquefied gas), of iron or steel, of a capacity exceeding 300 l, whether or not lined or heat-insulated, but not fitted with mechanical or thermal equipment
- 7310 - Tanks, casks, drums, cans, boxes and similar containers, for any material (other than compressed or liquefied gas), of iron or steel, of a capacity not exceeding 300 l, whether or not lined or heat-insulated, but not fitted with mechanical or thermal equipment
- 7311 00 - Containers for compressed or liquefied gas, of iron or steel
- 7318 - Screws, bolts, nuts, coach screws, screw hooks, rivets, cotters, cotter pins, washers (including spring washers) and similar articles, of iron or steel
- 7326 - Other articles of iron or steel
Aluminium
- 7601 - Unwrought aluminium
- 7603 - Aluminium powders and flakes
- 7604 - Aluminium bars, rods and profiles
- 7605 - Aluminium wire
- 7606 - Aluminium plates, sheets and strip, of a thickness exceeding 0,2 mm
- 7607 - Aluminium foil (whether or not printed or backed with paper, paper-board, plastics or similar backing materials) of a thickness (excluding any backing) not exceeding 0,2 mm
- 7608 - Aluminium tubes and pipes
- 7609 00 00 - Aluminium tube or pipe fittings (for example, couplings, elbows, sleeves)
- 7610 - Aluminium structures (excluding prefabricated buildings of heading 9406) and parts of structures (for example, bridges and bridge-sections, towers, lattice masts, roofs, roofing frameworks, doors and windows and their frames and thresholds for doors, balustrades, pillars and columns); aluminium plates, rods, profiles, tubes and the like, prepared for use in structures
- 7611 00 00 - Aluminium reservoirs, tanks, vats and similar containers, for any material (other than compressed or liquefied gas), of a capacity exceeding 300 litres, whether or not lined or heat-insulated, but not fitted with mechanical or thermal equipment
- 7612 - Aluminium casks, drums, cans, boxes and similar containers (including rigid or collapsible tubular containers), for any material (other than compressed or liquefied gas), of a capacity not exceeding 300 litres, whether or not lined or heat- insulated, but not fitted with mechanical or thermal equipment
- 7613 00 00 - Aluminium containers for compressed or liquefied gas
- 7614 - Stranded wire, cables, plaited bands and the like, of aluminium, not electrically insulated
- 7616 - Other articles of aluminium
Chemicals
- 2804 10 00 - Hydrogen
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