The introduction of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from 1 October has been a model case “of how not to do it,” says Alexander M. Julius of trading company Macrometal.
Speaking at the opening presentation of EUROMETAL’s Steel Trade Day in Düsseldorf, Julius recalled that “as of 1 October, customs did not have the system ready and could not tell what they needed from us … and we did not really get help from Brussels either,” Kallanish heard him say at the event. He pointed at Germany as “the best example for the mess,” as Berlin has not yet decided which departments are actually in charge of CBAM.
Another speaker that day, Simon Göss of Berlin-based company Carboneer, tried to give a fuller picture of the CBAM and how it works but could not answer all questions. An example from Julius: “If you work with more than one agent in the port of entry, will you need to have more than one declarant?”
On the positive side, he told of meetings with mills in the Middle East, where he “was amazed how well-prepared they were, about their efforts to measure emissions in detail.” And he expressed optimism that the mills with keen interest in the European market will be doing their homework in this regard.
But still, it means a lot of extra work on the receiving end for the trader. “It is a nightmare,” said Maruan El Daghma at the closing panel session. “But we will have to do the work and see our customers through it.”
Christian Koehl Germany
