Brussels, 12 June 2026 - Europe's steel industry has noted improvements made by EU ministers to the proposed reform of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), but warns loopholes remain that could weaken both Europe's climate ambitions and industrial competitiveness.

Meeting today, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), which gathers the EU27 Economy and Finance Ministers, adopted its position on the European Commission's CBAM review proposal. The European Steel Association (EUROFER) noted several improvements, including stronger references to "melt and pour" rules and clearer recognition of the risk that producers outside Europe may circumvent the system through ‘resource shuffling’ practices.

Axel Eggert, EUROFER’s Director General, said. "The Council has taken a step in the right direction, but it will not be sufficient to prevent carbon leakage, as major loopholes remain on circumvention, downstream products and exports. If they are not closed, carbon emissions will shift, not fall."

One of the biggest concerns for the steel sector is resource shuffling. This occurs when foreign producers send lower carbon steel to Europe while continuing to sell more carbon-intensive steel elsewhere. While the Council proposal better recognises this risk, it still relies largely on uncertain corrective measures rather than preventing it from happening in the first place.

The Council also proposes extending CBAM to around 200 additional steel-containing products. EUROFER welcomes this extension but warns this fails to provide a comprehensive and structural coverage to many steel-intensive goods, leaving parts of Europe's manufacturing value chain exposed to imports that do not face comparable carbon costs.

EUROFER also regrets that Member States maintained the Commission's proposal to include pre-consumer steel scrap as a CBAM precursor without first carrying out a dedicated impact assessment. The association warns this could create unintended consequences for scrap markets and Europe's circular economy.

The Council also amended article 27a, which sets conditions for temporary removal of goods from the CBAM scope. Rather than relying on such an unpredictable “emergency brake” mechanism, a more effective approach would be to adjust the pace of the CBAM/free allocation transition.

Finally, the steel industry expressed concern that little progress has been made on a long-term solution for European exports. While CBAM applies to imports entering the EU market, European producers exporting abroad continue to face carbon costs that many international competitors do not.

Notes for editors

Contact
David French, Spokesperson and Head of Communications, +32 2 738 79 35, (d.french@eurofer.eu)

About the European Steel Association (EUROFER)
EUROFER AISBL is located in Brussels and was founded in 1976. It represents the entirety of steel production in the European Union. EUROFER members are steel companies and national steel federations throughout the EU. The major steel companies and national steel federation of Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom are associate members.

The European Steel Association is recorded in the EU transparency register: 93038071152-83.

About the European steel industry
The European steel industry is a world leader in innovation and environmental sustainability. It has a turnover of around €215 billion and directly employs around 298,000 highly-skilled people, producing on average 146 million tonnes of steel per year. More than 500 steel production sites across 22 EU Member States provide direct and indirect employment to millions more European citizens. Closely integrated with Europe’s manufacturing and construction industries, steel is the backbone for development, growth and employment in Europe.

Steel is the most versatile industrial material in the world. The thousands of different grades and types of steel developed by the industry make the modern world possible. Steel is 100% recyclable and therefore is a fundamental part of the circular economy. As a basic engineering material, steel is also an essential factor in the development and deployment of innovative, CO2-mitigating technologies, improving resource efficiency and fostering sustainable development in Europe.