EU producers need to act to strategically position their free allowance war chests, as the market faces impending volatility and policy reforms.

European buyers were still seeking Ukrainian steel despite the recent rollout of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, but constraints on production during wartime were preventing mills from fulfilling the demand, the industry said.

As CBAM and the EU ETS reshape cost structures across Europe’s automotive supply chains, OEMs are under growing pressure to protect margins while navigating opaque carbon pass-through.

Front-loading cleared roughly €820 million in CBAM liabilities before the definitive phase began. The pattern is unlikely to be a one-off as free allowances step down toward zero in 2034.

The European Commission's draft CBAM carbon price legislation, published May 13, sets out how carbon costs paid abroad will count toward EU import obligations. It also caps Article 6 credit usage at 10% of emissions and applies retrospectively from January 2026.

The European Commission published the first-quarter 2026 Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) certificate price on Tuesday April 7, applicable to all CBAM-eligible goods imported into the EU in January-March 2026.

Shrinking EUA supply and falling prices are putting the EU ETS under strain. Fastmarkets Carbon explores how policy design led to this and what reforms the EC could implement to balance supply stress with decarbonization goals.

European allowances have steadily dropped in recent days amid wide uncertainty in the emissions trading market, defying a sharp spike in Dutch TTF Natural Gas prices prompted by the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Four years after Russia’s unprovoked, attempted full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Fastmarkets examines how the war has reshaped the Ukrainian and global steel and grain markets, outlining the key challenges faced by these sectors as they have adapted and endured.

Learn how MENA steel producers are adapting to the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and its implications for trade.