Carbon tax:The EU initiative to tax polluting products at the border is underway

Companies trading iron, steel, cement, aluminium, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity with the European Union are now required to communicate emissions (direct and indirect) of greenhouse gases linked to their products before crossing the border.The objective of the measure is threefold:avoid “carbon leakage” (which occurs when EU-based companies move CO2-intensive production abroad to countries where less rigorous climate policies), prevent highly polluting foreign products from undermining the continent's climate efforts and prevent European companies from losing competitiveness, subject to more stringent environmental standards.

The one that came into force last Sunday is only the first phase of the process that the EU has called the 'Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism' (CBAM) and which will ultimately involve the payment of a tax on emissions starting from 2026. of CO2 of the products - until that date it will be sufficient to present a timely report of imports.But in the future, once the current running-in phase is over, if the greenhouse gases emitted for the creation of the products in question exceed those that would have been emitted if production had taken place in Europe, respecting community standards, the importers will be forced to shell out a specific sum of money.A unique system in the world, «a reference tool for put a fair price on the carbon emitted during the production of goods entering the EU", such as he explained the European Commission, «so as to encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries», and thus support the general decarbonisation of the sector.The continent's intent is, in fact, to use the commercial medium to push states not belonging to the area to move in a 'greener' direction.

But if on the one hand the EU has entrusted the system with a decidedly important role within its plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, the carbon adjustment mechanism has already turned up the noses of several trading partners.

Carnegie Europe, a research organization specializing in the analysis of European foreign and security policy, estimate that Russia, China, the United Kingdom, Türkiye, Ukraine, India, South Korea and the United States will be most affected.Brazil and South Africa have called the measure "discriminatory", and New Delhi has already announced serious repercussions – the Government he would be planning to introduce its own carbon tax aimed at hitting EU exports.

But it's not just the foreign counterparts who are worried.EU manufacturers and trade associations fear that a reaction from China, for example, could cost them a large share of the market.Fears that the European Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, has attempted to reduce, explaining that the objective is not to discourage trade but to promote the most ecological one.

Moreover, the 'trial' period launched by the EU will serve precisely this purpose:clarify the doubts of all parties involved (importers, producers and authorities) and collect useful information to improve the methodology and instrumentation that the EU will have to use to keep all the data it will need under control.

[by Gloria Ferrari]