22 August 2025 – Amidst all the negative headlines, there are still some positive reports to be found. The eurozone economy continues to show signs of recovery. US-EU trade deal: Will there now be further CBAM relief for SMEs?
Eurozone: Economic activity sees strongest growth in over a year
Amidst all the negative headlines, there is still some positive news to be found. The eurozone economy continues to show signs of recovery. In July, business activity grew for the eighth consecutive month – and at the strongest rate in 15 months. This is according to the HCOB Flash Eurozone Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) published on Thursday, which is compiled monthly by S&P Global.
The index rose to 51.1 points, up from 50.9 in the previous month. Values above 50 signal growth.
The outlook for Germany is particularly positive: the eurozone’s largest economy recorded its third consecutive monthly increase. This was mainly due to solid expansion in industrial production, which once again provided a strong impetus for growth.
This suggests that the eurozone is emerging stronger from the past few months, buoyed by stable industrial development and a continuing robust service sector.
US-EU trade deal: Will there be further CBAM relief for SMEs?
In the United States, too, the unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a result of the EU’s CBAM market protection measure have not gone unnoticed. This issue was addressed in a separate paragraph in the ‘Joint Statement on a United States-European Union Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade’ published yesterday. It states:
‘Taking note of the U.S. concerns related to treatment of U.S. small and medium-sized businesses under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the European Commission, in addition to the recently agreed increase of the de minimis exception, commits to work to provide additional flexibilities in the CBAM implementation.’
Source: whitehouse.gov, europa.eu
Now it is time to turn this commitment by the European Commission into reality and finally introduce genuine CBAM relief for SMEs.
Thorsten Gerber, CEO of the Gerber Group, said today: ‘We very much welcome the fact that this extremely important point has made it into the trade deal between the two economic areas.’ He went on to say: ‘With appropriate pressure, we will regularly remind the Commission of its commitment in this statement in the coming months and urge it to implement further bureaucratic and economic relief for SMEs from CBAM.’
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