The German Steel Federation (WV Stahl) has welcomed the European Parliament's position on the proposed revision of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), while calling for further measures to address remaining shortcomings in the mechanism.
Following the Council of the EU, the European Parliament has adopted its position on the European Commission's proposal to revise CBAM, paving the way for trilogue negotiations between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. According to WV Stahl CEO Kerstin Maria Rippel, CBAM in its current form still has significant shortcomings and the European Commission's proposed solutions have not been sufficient. However, she welcomed the improvements backed by the European Parliament and called for a viable agreement to be reached quickly during the upcoming negotiations.
Calls for broader downstream CBAM coverage
WV Stahl stated that CBAM should be extended to significantly more downstream steel-intensive products than initially proposed by the Commission. According to the association, insufficient downstream coverage could shift carbon leakage risks to subsequent stages of the manufacturing value chain rather than preventing them. WV Stahl also called for loopholes that could enable circumvention of CBAM requirements to be effectively closed.
Concerns over carbon costs for EU steel exports
At the same time, WV Stahl stated that the European Parliament's position does not adequately address the carbon costs faced by EU producers when exporting to markets where competing producers do not bear comparable costs. The association warned that this could result in losses of market share and the relocation of production and emissions outside the EU.
Accordingly, WV Stahl called for the development of a legally sound and World Trade Organization-compliant export protection mechanism, arguing that such a measure is necessary for CBAM to support both decarbonization and the competitiveness of European industry.
