updates
CBAM updates
What changed in the EU CBAM — default-value revisions, rule and deadline changes, and carbon-price moves that shift importer costs. We post when the EU actually changes something, then update the underlying data. Subscribe below to get each one by email.
The EU has corrected the CBAM default values — and it applies retroactively to January 2026
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1740, published 31 July 2026, replaces Annexes I and IV of Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 in full and applies from 1 January 2026. Taiwanese stainless steel drops by roughly 45%, eight country values that were accidentally omitted are restored, white and grey cement are split onto 10-digit TARIC codes, and the per-year mark-up columns are removed in favour of a stated formula. This site now serves the corrected values.
UK CBAM moves into law — the rate formula and carbon price relief are now legislated
On 13 July 2026 the UK made its first CBAM secondary legislation — the Regulations setting how the CBAM rate is calculated and how importers claim carbon price relief for carbon already paid abroad — under the enacted Finance Act 2026, in force 1 January 2027. HMRC also published live guidance on registration, record-keeping, and relief. The default emission values and sector rates themselves are still to come.
The calculator now uses the official CBAM certificate price — Q2 2026 is €75.28
On 6 July 2026 the Commission set the Q2 2026 CBAM certificate price at €75.28 per tonne of CO₂, just below the €75.36 Q1 price. The exposure calculator now uses this official certificate price directly instead of a live EU ETS spot proxy, so every euro figure on the site reflects the number importers actually surrender certificates at.
Calculator corrected: benchmark-based free allocation replaces the flat phase-in share
The exposure calculator now applies the free-allocation adjustment exactly as Implementing Reg (EU) 2025/2620 defines it — deducting 97.5% of the product's CBAM benchmark in 2026, not treating 2.5% of embedded emissions as the whole bill. For most default values the correct 2026 cost is 10 to 40 times the flat-share figure. Every default value now carries its Column-B benchmark, matched by CN code and production route.
UK CBAM is coming 1 January 2027 — tracker and threshold checker now live
The UK launches its own CBAM on 1 January 2027 covering aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen, and iron & steel, with a £50,000 rolling registration threshold. HMRC will publish single default values per good in advance — our UK section tracks the rules and will carry the full dataset on day one.
How CBAM default values rise: the 2026–2028 markup schedule
The definitive-period CBAM default values carry a markup that grows each year — +10% in 2026, +20% in 2027, and +30% from 2028 — to push importers toward verified actual emissions. Fertilisers are the exception, carrying a flat 1% that does not escalate.
CBAM set to expand to ~180 downstream products from 2028
On 12 June 2026 the Council agreed its position on extending CBAM to around 180 steel- and aluminium-intensive downstream products — machinery, appliances, engine and heat-pump parts — from 1 January 2028, alongside new anti-circumvention measures. Parliament's position and trilogue come next.
CBAM enters its definitive period
On 1 January 2026 the EU CBAM moved from reporting-only to financial liability. Country-specific default values, a 50-tonne de minimis exemption, and postponed certificate sales (to February 2027) all took effect via the Omnibus simplification package.