Dutch S&D rapporteur Mohammed Chahim invited members of environment committee ENVI to draft joint amendments to potentially include more sectors under the CBAM tax on carbon-intensive imports.
Chahim told a 5 May ENVI hearing that amendments could be negotiated in trilogue talks with the EU Council. This comes as co-legislators debate Commission proposals to bring more steel and aluminium byproducts under CBAM.
Chahim’s draft report on the CBAM extension proposal, finalised last month, doesn’t go beyond the Commission’s proposal, which would extend CBAM to about 180 additional goods from 2028. At the hearing, MEPs from the Greens, the liberal Renew and ultraconservative ECR groups signalled support for broadening the scope.
ENVI also debated a parallel file setting up a temporary decarbonisation fund to help certain CBAM-covered sectors cope with the levy. Renew rapporteur Pascal Canfin’s pitch to tie funds more closely to actual exports was backed by S&D, Green and EPP MEPs. But a Commission official warned this could breach World Trade Organization rules.
The official also questioned Canfin’s push to open funding to downstream operators subject to CBAM but not to the ETS carbon market, saying this could limit available funds.
