EUROMETAL has joined 19 European industry associations and industriALL European Trade Union in calling for a broad extension of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to downstream products.
The joint statement, published on Oct. 19 on the EUROMETAL website, comes ahead of trilogue negotiations between the European Parliament, Council and Commission scheduled for Oct. 20. The signatories are urging EU policymakers to reach an ambitious agreement that protects European industrial value chains, investment and employment.
“Products covered by CBAM will benefit from a more level playing field, supporting their continued production in Europe,” the groups said. “Products left outside its scope will face growing risks of being replaced by imports or having their production relocated to third countries, where producers are not subject to equivalent carbon costs. This risk will become increasingly pronounced as free allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System are progressively phased out.”
Under the current framework, CBAM initially focuses on carbon-intensive products including steel and aluminum, while free allocations under the EU Emissions Trading System are being phased out. Industry groups warn that manufacturers using these materials could face rising carbon-related costs without equivalent coverage for competing finished and semi-finished imports from outside the EU.
The signatories said this could leave European producers at a competitive disadvantage and increase the risk of production being displaced by imports or relocated to countries with less stringent carbon-cost requirements. Such an outcome could also undermine investment in cleaner production within Europe, they said.
The sectors identified as being exposed include construction, mobility, machinery, energy, packaging, household appliances and clean technologies, as well as other metal-intensive industries.
For EUROMETAL, which represents European steel, tube and metal distribution companies, the competitiveness of downstream manufacturing is closely tied to the strength of the broader European steel value chain. The association has also been very vocal in the past about the importance of expanding CBAM to the downstream products.
The association said the joint initiative supports a coordinated approach to ensuring that European-made products are not disadvantaged by carbon costs imposed under EU legislation.
The signatories are calling for comprehensive downstream coverage in the final CBAM agreement, arguing that protecting European industrial production, investment and quality jobs is essential to the region’s economic security, prosperity and climate transition.W
Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed on Oct. 16 domestic hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe at €740/mt ex-works Ruhr and in Southern Europe at €740/mt ex-works Italy, both stable day over day.
Platts assessed imported HRC in Northern Europe at €600/mt CIF Antwerp and in Southern Europe at €595/mt CIF Southern Europe, also both unchanged day over day.
Author: Annalisa Villa
