CBAM
Regulation (EU) 2023/956 — Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083
Topic : Climate · Level : Regional
Today
Definitive since 1 Jan 2026. Certificate sales from 1 Feb 2027; first declaration 30 Sep 2027. Downstream extension in trilogue.
Summary
CBAM puts a carbon price on imports of steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity. Since 2026 importers above 50 t/yr must be authorised and buy certificates, with sales opening in February 2027.
Who is concerned
- Turnover
- non précisé
- Employees
- non précisé
- Listed company
- non précisé
- Sectors
- Iron and steel, aluminium
- Cement, fertilisers
- Hydrogen, electricity
- Triggering activities
- Importing >50 t/yr of CBAM goods into the EU
- Acting as authorised CBAM declarant
- Indirect customs representative for importer
- Extraterritorial reach
- Yes
Non-EU producers must supply verified embedded emissions per installation or default values apply.
- Examples
- EU importer of Chinese steel fasteners >50 t/yr
- Distributor of aluminium profiles from Asia
- Fertiliser trader importing from North Africa
What the law requires
- Obtain authorised CBAM declarant status before exceeding 50 t/yr
- Declare embedded emissions of imports annually by 30 September
- Buy and surrender CBAM certificates, holding 50% of emissions quarterly
- Have installation emissions data verified by an accredited verifier
Penalties
€100 per tonne of unsurrendered emissions; 3-5x that for importing over 50 t without authorisation. National penalties also apply.
What this changes for a supplier in China
Chinese steel, aluminium and fertiliser exporters must give EU buyers verified installation emissions; otherwise punitive default values raise the buyer's cost.
Expected evidence
- Installation emissions report per CN code
- Third-party verification report
- Proof of carbon price paid in China, if any
Tiers : Tier 1-2