Ukrainian exporters are facing excessive pressure due to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). It would be fair to grant an exemption to a country currently at war.
According to Eurometal, this was stated by Pascal Lamy, former EU Trade Commissioner and ex-Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.
He noted that trade in steel and electricity – which were the country’s largest export items – had been hardest hit by the European ‘carbon duty’.
In Lamy’s view, the European Union should make an exception for Ukraine and exempt products from Ukrainian manufacturers from the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The introduction of the mechanism should be gradual and linked to specific stages of decarbonisation, which Ukraine will adhere to on its path to European integration in accordance with the terms of accession.
A sharp decline
As early as the end of 2025, the European Commission reported that Ukraine was the largest supplier of steel to the European Union, and that its products would fall under the scope of the CBAM.
However, according to the GMK Centre, exports of long steel products from Ukraine fell by more than 60 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 alone.
As for Ukrainian electricity exports, the Bruegel think tank predicted in its report that these would also fall by more than 60 per cent.
EcoPolitic previously reported that the European Parliament had called for a reconsideration of the approach to applying CBAM to Ukraine due to the wartime circumstances.
In April, the Ministry of Economy stated that it intends to request an exemption for Ukraine. The Ministry noted that at the very outset, the EU had unrealistically assessed the country's losses from CBAM.
From a separate article, you can find out what CBAM is and how it works.
