{"id":239640,"date":"2025-12-18T18:12:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T18:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/239640\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T18:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T18:12:11","slug":"eu-to-strengthen-carbon-levy-on-high-emission-imports-crack-down-on-attempted-evasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/239640\/","title":{"rendered":"EU to strengthen carbon levy on high-emission imports, crack down on attempted evasion"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul data-testid=\"Summary\" class=\"summary-module__summary__QjADA\">\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">EU presses ahead with carbon border levy despite pushback<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">Proposals widen levy to cover imported car parts, washing machines<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf summary-module__point__UgXPz\">First-of-its-kind policy will impose CO2 costs from January<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>BRUSSELS, Dec 17 &#8211; The European Union will expand its carbon border levy &#8211; a fee charged on imports of high-emission goods &#8211; to cover car parts and washing machines, under European Commission proposals published on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The plans would also tighten loopholes that the Commission worries could allow foreign firms to dodge the fee, which is currently in a pilot phase and will start imposing costs from January.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"promo-box\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body-module__promo-box__hVl8h\"> Sign up  <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/climate-energy\/eu-strengthen-carbon-levy-high-emission-imports-crack-down-attempts-dodge-it-2025-12-17\/undefined?location=article-paragraph&amp;redirectUrl=%2Fsustainability%2Fclimate-energy%2Feu-strengthen-carbon-levy-high-emission-imports-crack-down-attempts-dodge-it-2025-12-17%2F\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The EU&#8217;s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism &#8211; the world&#8217;s first carbon border tariff &#8211; will impose fees on the CO2 emissions of imported goods including steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers.<\/p>\n<p>The policy, known as CBAM, is designed to shield European industries against cheaper imports from countries with weaker climate rules. But it has irritated trading partners including China, India and South Africa, which say it unfairly penalises their economies.<\/p>\n<p>EU SEEKS TO AVERT WORKAROUNDS<\/p>\n<p>Despite these objections, Brussels is doubling down on the carbon border levy.<\/p>\n<p>The Commission proposed expanding the levy to cover downstream products that use a high share of steel and aluminium, including construction products and machinery, confirming <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/boards-policy-regulation\/eu-extend-carbon-border-levy-new-products-drafts-show-2025-12-16\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">draft EU legal proposals<\/a> previously reported by Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>The fee CBAM imposes on imports will be linked to the carbon price EU companies already pay under the bloc&#8217;s carbon market.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re not asking anything more, but also not asking anything less, for those goods that come into the European Union,&#8221; EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said.<\/p>\n<p>Leon de Graaf, acting president of the &#8220;Business for CBAM Coalition&#8221; of companies and industry groups, welcomed the EU plans, which he said targeted &#8220;products that face the highest risk of carbon leakage&#8221; &#8211; the risk that manufacturers relocate abroad to avoid Europe&#8217;s strict climate policies.<\/p>\n<p>The EU also wants to clamp down on foreign companies if there is evidence they are under-reporting their emissions to dodge the levy. In this scenario, the EU could impose &#8220;default&#8221; emissions values on that country&#8217;s products, resulting in a higher CBAM bill.<\/p>\n<p>That aims to address EU concerns that foreign companies &#8211; in particular <a data-testid=\"Link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/climate-energy\/eu-drafting-plans-prevent-circumvention-carbon-border-tariff-2025-09-03\/\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__inherit-color__PhuPF text-module__inherit-font__1P1hv text-module__inherit-size__EyiQW link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">those in China<\/a> &#8211; could strategically adjust by sending low-carbon products to Europe, while continuing to produce high-carbon goods for other markets. This would allow them to dodge the EU levy without making their overall production any greener.<\/p>\n<p>EU countries and the European Parliament will negotiate the proposals, before they pass into law. While CBAM will charge importers for the emissions associated with their imports from 2026, companies will have until September 2027 to buy and surrender CBAM certificates to the EU to comply.<\/p>\n<p>Since Brussels announced its carbon border levy in 2021, China, India and Brazil &#8211; while criticising the EU policy &#8211; have begun developing or expanding their own carbon pricing systems.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They have changed behaviour. That is the success of CBAM,&#8221; said Totis Kotsonis, a partner at law firm Pinsent Masons.<\/p>\n<p>Brussels also proposed using 25% of the revenue from the scheme to compensate European manufacturers for higher costs associated with the carbon border levy. This support would only go to industries that invest in lower-carbon manufacturing.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"SignOff\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__extra_small__8Buss body-module__full_width__kCIGb body-module__extra_small_body__Bfz20 sign-off-module__text__LQAMP\">Reporting by Kate Abnett<br \/>\nEditing by Frances Kerry and Sharon Singleton<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body-module__element__5eCce article-body-module__trust-badge__5mS3f\">Our Standards: <a data-testid=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thomsonreuters.com\/en\/about-us\/trust-principles.html\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__medium__2Rl30 text-module__small__sph8i link-module__link__INqxZ link-module__underline_default__-okuC link-module__with-icon__qlg76\">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reutersagency.com\/en\/licensereuterscontent\/?utm_medium=rcom-article-media&amp;utm_campaign=rcom-rcp-lead\" target=\"_blank\" dir=\"ltr\" class=\"button-module__link__A3sD0 button-module__secondary__70gBu button-module__round__QDFgq button-module__w_auto__Sem-F\" data-testid=\"LicenceContentButton\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Purchase Licensing Rights<\/a><a data-testid=\"AuthorBioImageLink\" class=\"author-bio-module__author-image__jcaG3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/authors\/kate-abnett\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" tabindex=\"-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__extra_small__8Buss body-module__base__o--Cl body-module__extra_small_body__Bfz20 author-bio-module__description__9ynkB\">Kate Abnett covers EU climate and energy policy in Brussels, reporting on Europe\u2019s green transition and how climate change is affecting people and ecosystems across the EU. Other areas of coverage include international climate diplomacy. Before joining Reuters, Kate covered emissions and energy markets for Argus Media in London. She is part of the teams whose reporting on Europe\u2019s energy crisis won two Reuters journalist of the year awards in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EU presses ahead with carbon border levy despite pushback Proposals widen levy to cover imported car parts, washing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[269],"tags":[126468,126469,126470,84442,84039,115363,90365,30900,1802,104535,87208,82543,82538,83805,82546,83395,82549,82541,82550,83396,83397,83391,82530,83393,82580,82528,82531,82711,82555,83392,82547,82557,82540,112952,83394,82551,85719,3737,18,83371,82571,440,4893,111481,126471,32356,45748,19,82765,17,88437,84449,63010,84450,82565,82575,82507,45751,82508,82756,83361,133,111482,15170,82534,83366,84438,82564,82533,82707],"class_list":{"0":"post-239640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-agrc","9":"tag-alum","10":"tag-alum1","11":"tag-bmat","12":"tag-bru","13":"tag-cemcon","14":"tag-chem","15":"tag-co2","16":"tag-com","17":"tag-coma","18":"tag-cong","19":"tag-destabn","20":"tag-destabx","21":"tag-destafn","22":"tag-destbnx","23":"tag-destc","24":"tag-destdnp","25":"tag-deste","26":"tag-destfun","27":"tag-destgro","28":"tag-destmtl","29":"tag-desto","30":"tag-destocabsm","31":"tag-destoil","32":"tag-destortagm","33":"tag-destoukbsm","34":"tag-destousbsm","35":"tag-destousesg","36":"tag-destpco","37":"tag-destpen","38":"tag-destpsc","39":"tag-destrbn","40":"tag-destrnp","41":"tag-destsns","42":"tag-destsof","43":"tag-destucdptest","44":"tag-destz","45":"tag-dip","46":"tag-eire","47":"tag-enr","48":"tag-env","49":"tag-environment","50":"tag-eu","51":"tag-ferr","52":"tag-fertil","53":"tag-fin","54":"tag-gen","55":"tag-ie","56":"tag-intag","57":"tag-ireland","58":"tag-metl","59":"tag-min","60":"tag-mine","61":"tag-mtal","62":"tag-mtpix","63":"tag-ncyc","64":"tag-news1","65":"tag-nrg","66":"tag-pol","67":"tag-rsbiclimate-change","68":"tag-rsbisustainable-markets","69":"tag-science","70":"tag-ste","71":"tag-sustainable-business","72":"tag-topcmb","73":"tag-topicmarkets-commodities-energy","74":"tag-topicmarkets-commodities-metals","75":"tag-topicreuters-impact-top-stories","76":"tag-topnws","77":"tag-trd"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}