EU may pause carbon levy on fertilisers if market damage emerges
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The EU will also propose temporarily suspending tariffs on ammonia and other fertilisers to help counter costs.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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The European Union may temporarily suspend its carbon border levies on goods, including fertilisers, should monitoring uncover any “unforeseen” market impact, European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said.
Mr Sefcovic commented after French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard indicated in a posting on X earlier on Jan 7 that the European Union was set to suspend its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) with respect to fertilisers to help farmers struggling with extra costs.
The European Commission will issue guidance on a measure it proposed in December 2025 that would allow for a temporary suspension of the CBAM on certain goods such as fertilisers, should market monitoring indicate there was a need to do so, the commissioner said.
Fertiliser prices will be closely monitored.
The EU’s executive branch will also propose temporarily suspending most-favoured nation tariffs on ammonia and other fertilisers to help counter costs stemming from the introduction of the levy at the start of 2026.
France has been rallying support for the exemption of fertilisers from carbon border levies. Farmers in the country have been holding angry protests over rising costs, stringent regulations and cheap imports.
The CBAM, which took effect on Jan 1, seeks to shield the EU’s carbon-intensive sectors from unfair competition during the bloc’s green transition – particularly from producers operating in nations with weaker climate laws. But it has drawn criticism from trading partners over protectionist implications, including from China, which vowed to take countermeasures. BLOOMBERG
