From January 1, 2026, all importers whose production causes carbon emissions must declare goods when importing them into the European Union under an additional procedure. In the first week of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) being in effect, importers declared almost 1.7 million tons of goods.
This is evidenced by the results of the first week of CBAM, published by the European Commission.
Ferrous metallurgy products accounted for the largest share of "carbon" imports, at 98% of the total volume. Fertilizers accounted for 1.3% of imports in the first reporting period, cement for 0.5%, and aluminum for 0.3%.
Operational results
In total, more than 12,000 businesses applied for CBAM authorization between January 1 and 7.
Automatic confirmation was received for 10,483 customs declarations with CBAM goods. Confirmation took place through integrated customs systems and in real time.
More than 4,100 importing companies successfully prepared for the implementation of the Mechanism. They received the status of authorized declarant before January 1 or immediately after.
The most active countries in foreign trade
According to the European Commission, the largest imports of carbon-intensive products to the European Union came from manufacturers in Turkey, China, India, Canada, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Among European countries whose businesses declared their exports under the CBAM mechanism, the largest volumes of products were in Belgium, Spain, Romania, the Netherlands, France, and Germany.
EcoPolitic previously reported that ahead of the launch, the EU decided to strengthen CBAM by closing loopholes for circumventing it.
There had long been discussions that Ukrainian businesses needed a postponement of CBAM implementation due to the war. To this end, the Ministry of Economy had to submit an official request to the European Commission. However, so far, there have been no official announcements regarding relaxation of the Mechanism for Ukraine.
