SMR Stainless Club: EURANIMI flags CBAM cost risk for stainless importers as benchmark uncertainty lingers

With the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) approaching its full implementation in January 2026, EURANIMI has again raised alarm over the absence of benchmark values for cost calculations writes Kateryna Samoilenko for Stainless Club.

EURANIMI, the European Association of Independent Stainless Steel and Aluminium Importers and Distributors, is concerned that the difference in methodology, which can be used to set long-awaited benchmarks for calculating the CBAM charge, could result in around EUR 100 per tonne in additional costs for European importers.

The uncertainty lies in whether the EU will base CBAM calculations on a common low-emission electric arc furnace (EAF) production route in Europe or adopt a more globally realistic benchmark that accounts for more greenhouse gas-intensive processes still used in countries like China and Indonesia.

According to EURANIMI, using a strict EAF benchmark could set the reference at just 0.3 tCO2 per tonne, resulting in CBAM charges of nearly EUR 300/t for some products. A more lenient 1.5 tCO2/t benchmark would reduce that cost to around EUR 199/t. Those benchmarks are not official, they are an estimate based on the existing EU Emission Trading System numbers for different production routes. The calculation based on close to 4tCO2/t of embedded emissions in the product. SMR’s CBAM calculator accessible to Stainless Club Members confirms the potential huge difference.

“Using EAF alone looks climate-friendly but ignores the global production mix,” said EURANIMI, stressing that scrap availability is limited and global demand cannot be met with recycled inputs alone.

With orders for 2026 already being placed, the lack of clarity leaves EU importers in a regulatory limbo. EURANIMI is calling on the European Commission to publish provisional benchmarks values for 2026, and set default emissions at realistic levels to prevent disruption and protect supply chain competitiveness.

The European Commission was expected to publish the benchmarks by the end of Q2, but the release has been delayed. The figures are now likely to appear in the final quarter of 2025.

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SMR Stainless Club
English
28 June 2025