Joint High-Level Statement on the Extension of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to downstream industries

4 May 2026

Joint High-Level Statement on the Extension of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
(CBAM) to downstream industries

The signatories call on the European Parliament and Council to ensure an effective and broad extension of the CBAM to relevant steel and aluminium-intensive downstream industries.

While the CBAM represents a first attempt in addressing carbon leakage risks in upstream materials, its current scope is insufficient to ensure a level playing field across the full value chain. Downstream sectors, including energy, mobility, machinery, cookware, cutlery, catering equipment, packaging, construction, clean tech, defence, home appliances, hand tools and metal goods, are increasingly exposed to competition from imports of carbon-intensive finished products that fall outside the mechanism’s coverage. This creates a growing imbalance, as European manufacturers face higher costs linked to carbon constraints, while competing imports are not subject to equivalent requirements. There is an urgent need to act in order to prevent further delocalisation.

You can find the full text of the Joint Statement in the Download section below.