The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will kick in on October 1st. CBAM is the EU’s tariff system on imported carbon intensive products that seeks to equalize prices of imports with the price of carbon paid for products made in the EU in adherence with the Emissions Trading System. In preparation for CBAM being levied, Thailand’s Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) has led a discussion among public and private sector experts to promote an exchange of ideas about CBAM.
DTN Director-General Auramon Supthaweethum said her agency joined with Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organizaton (TGO), the Climate Action Academy (CAA), and the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) to hold a seminar seeking input on the CBAM measure.
According to Auramon, CBAM will be levied on 6 categories of items imported into the EU. These include metal and steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizer, electricity, and hydrogen. The EU is requiring importers to report on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions involved in the making of these products from October 1 this year to December 31, 2025. From January 1, 2026, importers will need to purchase “CBAM certificates” whose prices would correspond to the amounts of greenhouse gases being released in making the products.
The DTN will take the input and suggestions gathered from the seminar and discuss them with EU experts who will visit Thailand in late September to provide information on the CBAM measure.
Auramon expressed her belief that CBAM will not impact the exportation of Thai products under the 6 categories, as producers of these items were already aware of CBAM and have started calculating their emission amounts.
Exports of products under the 6 categories to the EU accounted for 1.49% of all exports in 2022 or about 14.712 billion baht. The category of metal and steel products held the highest share of export value, among the 6 categories. (NNT)
