29 April 2026 – The CBAM default values, which are considered too high and artificially inflated, could trigger countermeasures. A study for the U.S. Congress is now intended, among other things, to provide lawmakers there with the data basis needed for this. After severe damage: Iran suspends steel exports of slabs and sheets.
Iran Suspends Steel Exports of Slabs and Sheets
Iran ranks 10th among the world’s largest steel producers. During the confrontation with Israel and the United States, around 10 million tonnes of annual capacity were damaged or had to be taken offline. On Monday, the Iranian leadership therefore announced an export ban on key steel products, such as slabs and sheets, initially until the end of May.
Buyers of Iranian Steel Must Find Alternatives
This is likely to lead to a further tightening of global supply, since major buyers of Iranian steel, such as Turkey, Armenia, Pakistan, or China, must now look elsewhere and switch to alternative sources. So one can see just how quickly a market situation can change – and how pointless amplifying measures such as trade defence instruments are in such an environment.
United States: Excessively High CBAM Default Values
In spring 2026, the U.S. Congress commissioned a bipartisan study which, among other things, is intended to examine the default values in the European CO2 tax CBAM, which are considered significantly excessive, and to demonstrate the United States’ competitive advantage in low-emissions production.
The first data already published on this, based on surveys by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), show that the European Union’s assumptions regarding U.S. CO2 emissions must be regarded as inflated and significantly excessive.
As a result, U.S. exporters whose European customers have to report using CBAM default values could face considerable competitive disadvantages.
Congress Wants to Use Study to Counter CBAM
With this study, Congress wants to provide U.S. lawmakers with a data basis to ensure that American companies are treated fairly by the European Union under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
EU-U.S. Trade Deal Provides Relief for SMEs
The trade deal negotiated between the EU and the United States includes a passage providing for additional flexibility for small and medium-sized U.S. companies in the implementation of CBAM. In recent months, however, the European Commission had repeatedly made clear to other trading partners, such as India, that there would be no exemptions from CBAM. The rulebook currently in force, at almost 3,000 pages, is already regarded as one of the largest bureaucratic monsters the Commission has ever conceived.
Deadlocked Negotiations on Section 232 Tariffs
The deadlocked negotiations on an exemption for the European Union from the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum are unlikely to help reach a solution under these circumstances. On the contrary, the CO2 tax CBAM could even further exacerbate the situation, since the United States does not have a free trade agreement with the EU and is therefore likely to be among the WTO countries that will come away empty-handed in the quota allocation under the EU safeguard successor.
Thorsten Gerber, CEO of the Gerber Group, commented on the latest developments in no uncertain terms: “How many more hints do the amateurs in the Commission, DG TAXUD, actually need before they understand that they are incapable of doing anything? The U.S. Congress had to commission a bipartisan study because the CBAM default values are so absurdly inflated that even American lawmakers felt compelled to correct them with their own surveys. Initial ITC data confirm what many already knew: the EU assumptions on U.S. CO2 emissions are simply wrong – and at the expense of American exporters and their European customers.”
He continued: “And while we are on the subject of Commission directorates: the fact that the steel tariff and quota paper was cobbled together under the direction of DG Trade in the stupidest possible way, and, in combination with DG TAXUD’s damp squib, is nothing other than a demonstration of incompetence and socialist central planning. From 1 July 2026, 50% tariffs on steel are supposed to enter into force, combined with reduced quotas – and many WTO partner countries, including the United States, will simply come away empty-handed. No free trade agreement, no quota, no solution. Anyone selling that as well-thought-out trade policy should look up the term trade policy again.”
Latest news:
- CBAM Expansion: Should a failed system really be expanded?
- EU Trade Commissioner Makes No Progress on U.S. Steel Tariffs
- EU Steel Tariffs and Quotas: Compromise Proposal on the Table
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