EU CBAM & Indian Exports

From 1 January 2026 the European Union switched on the world''s first carbon border tax. Its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), trialled since October 2023, has moved from paperwork to payment: importers of iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity must now buy certificates - priced off the EU''s own carbon market - to cover the emissions embedded in what they bring in. The stated aim is to stop carbon leakage as Brussels scraps the free pollution permits its own factories long enjoyed. For India, the bloc''s largest steel supplier, with iron and steel alone making up about 90% of its CBAM-exposed exports, the levy lands on already-thin margins - and New Delhi calls it a unilateral measure that ignores the different responsibilities of developing economies.