Riegel/Brussels, 12 January 2026 – Barely two weeks after the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) entered into force, the European Commission is already considering exemptions and relief measures – specifically for the agricultural sector. Under pressure from EU agriculture ministers, Commissioners Hansen, Várhelyi and Maroš Šefčovič have signalled a willingness to suspend CBAM and reduce tariffs for fertilisers, while leaving the steel consuming sector fully exposed to sharply rising costs.
From the perspective of the Gerber Group, this approach raises fundamental questions about equal treatment, regulatory credibility and fair competition within the European Union.
In mid-December 2025, the EU categorically ruled out any exemptions from CBAM
“Only in mid-December 2025, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra categorically ruled out any exemptions from CBAM,” said Thorsten Gerber, CEO of the Gerber Group. “Now Brussels wants to suspend CBAM for a single sector due to alleged unfair price disadvantages, while all other sectors are expected to continue bearing significantly higher costs. That is neither sustainable nor economically defensible.”
While fertiliser producers face CBAM-related costs of between EUR 0 and EUR 40 per tonne and MFN tariffs of just 5.5 to 6.5%, steel products are confronted with CBAM costs exceeding EUR 700 per tonne of hot rolled coil, combined with additional steel tariffs of up to 50%. This amounts to price increases of well over 100% – with direct consequences for European manufacturers, downstream industries and ultimately consumers.
Where is the principle of equal treatment?
“The Commission argues that rising fertiliser prices are ‘not sustainable’. Yet at the same time it appears willing to accept cumulative cost increases of more than 200% for steel from proposed tariffs and CBAM ,” Gerber said. “Where is the principle of equal treatment? Where is the level playing field that European industry is constantly being promised?”
Equally concerning is the silence of large parts of the affected industrial associations representing importing and steel-consuming companies. While agricultural interests have successfully mobilised political pressure, comparable and equally forceful protests from steel-dependent sectors remain largely absent – despite the far greater economic impact.
Loud protest is rewarded, economic reality is ignored, and fundamental principles of fairness are sacrificed
“The message coming out of Brussels is dangerous,” Gerber added. “Loud protest is rewarded, economic reality is ignored, and fundamental principles of fairness are sacrificed in order to secure political survival. This makes it clear that CBAM was never conceived as a genuine climate instrument, but from the outset functioned as a politically arbitrary cost amplifier.”
The Gerber Group calls on the European Parliament and the Member States to instruct the Commission to suspend CBAM immediately and for an indefinite period across all affected sectors. It is time to draw a clear line under this fundamentally misguided market protection measure.
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