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EU rejects 'protectionist tariff' label for its carbon border mechanism
🇲🇽 Mexico /Economy & Trade

EU rejects 'protectionist tariff' label for its carbon border mechanism

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The European Commission rejected accusations that its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a protectionist tariff.
  • The EU stated CBAM is a climate measure to prevent carbon leakage and ensure imported goods face the same carbon price as European producers.
  • The mechanism is compatible with WTO rules and applies equally to all third countries based on verified emissions.

The European Commission has firmly rejected claims that its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) functions as a protectionist tariff. The rebuttal follows accusations from the U.S. Ambassador to the EU, Andrew Puzder, who described the mechanism as a "protectionist measure disguised as climate policy."

a protectionist measure disguised as climate policy.

— Andrew PuzderU.S. Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder's description of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, Puzder criticized Brussels for what he termed a "double standard," citing the EU's condemnation of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum while implementing its own border carbon adjustment. He defended Washington's tariffs, arguing they are rooted in national security concerns related to overcapacity from third countries, particularly China.

a climate measure designed to avoid carbon leakage, support global decarbonization and ensure that imported products bear the same carbon price as European producers face under the EU emissions trading scheme.

— European Commission spokespersonThe spokesperson's explanation of the purpose of the CBAM.

However, a European Commission spokesperson countered that CBAM is fundamentally a climate initiative. Its purpose, she explained, is to avert carbon leakage and support global decarbonization by ensuring that imported products bear the same carbon costs as those produced within the EU's emissions trading system.

non-discriminatory and compatible with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, as it applies equally to all third countries based on verified embedded emissions, regardless of origin.

— European Commission spokespersonThe spokesperson's assertion regarding the CBAM's compliance with international trade regulations.

The spokesperson emphasized that CBAM is non-discriminatory and WTO-compliant, as it applies uniformly to all third countries based on verified embedded emissions, irrespective of their origin. Unlike traditional tariffs, goods with a lower carbon footprint will incur minimal or no CBAM obligations. Furthermore, any carbon price already paid in a third country for a product's emissions can be deducted from the CBAM obligation, preventing double taxation.

Therefore, we do not share the comparisons with unilateral tariff measures.

— European Commission spokespersonThe spokesperson's concluding remark on the comparison between CBAM and tariffs.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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