Despite earlier promises, the European Commission's proposed reform of the ETS carbon market did not include provisions to support exporters of EU goods subject to the CBAM tax on carbon-intensive goods.
The European steel lobby Eurofer said that this long-awaited proposal was "still missing."
While CBAM protects European producers of goods such as steel and fertilizers from imports, the industry argues that this leaves exporters unprotected.
For Fertilizers Europe, the reform proposal to postpone the phasing out of free ETS benefits for CBAM-covered sectors from 2034 to 2038 is not enough.
The lobbying group Cement Europe has confirmed its support for the phase-out, provided that CBAM protections are "robust."… For both import and export".
The Business for CBAM coalition of companies investing in industrial decarbonization said the proposal penalizes companies that have invested in greener technologies but failed to protect exporters.
Bellona, a non-governmental organization, said that the European Commission's actions "risk undermining confidence in the EU from both investors and trading partners."
French Renovation MEP Pascal Canfin, one of the CBAM leaders in parliament, criticized the delay in phasing out free benefits as an "inconsistent signal" as the EU considers extending the levy to new sectors.
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