European Steel Association calls for urgent changes on EU's CBAM

The European Steel Association, or Eurofer, called for "major improvements" ahead of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism launch in 2026, it said in a Jan. 22 statement.

The industry body outlined an urgent need for a "more effective yet simpler CBAM," and that any delay or "launching it without the necessary improvements would further erode the competitiveness of the European steel industry."

In order to prevent carbon leakage amid the phase-out of free allocations and the relocation of industry from Europe, Eurofer said CBAM's scope should be extended to steel-intensive downstream sectors, alongside more strict rules to prevent the circumvention of the measures. The group also suggested the introduction of a "structural solution" to ensure European exports remain competitive.

Eurofer also called for simplified procedures to alleviate the administrative processes involved with the reporting of emissions through CBAM, saying European products that are exported outside the EU for processing and then reimported into the EU should not be subject to reporting obligations. The statement also argued that the current de minimis threshold of Eur150 should be converted into a weight unit and increased to reduce reporting requirements for smaller lots.

The statement concluded by reiterating the need for CBAM, but that the planned legislation is not a "silver bullet," and that "industrial competitiveness must be mainstreamed across all policies."

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the North European domestic hot-rolled coil price at Eur580/mt ex-works Ruhr on Jan. 22, while the imported HRC price in Northwest Europe rose Eur10 on the day to Eur550/mt CIF Antwerp.

Market participants have said import offers remain uncompetitive against domestic coil production, which continues to see strong availability and a wide range of prices.