{"id":19634,"date":"2025-04-08T10:42:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T08:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/news\/zoll-zoeller-am-zoellsten-omnibus-und-neuerungen-bei-cbam-vulgo-co2-zoll\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T14:43:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T12:43:43","slug":"zoll-zoeller-am-zoellsten-omnibus-und-neuerungen-bei-cbam-vulgo-co2-zoll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/zoll-zoeller-am-zoellsten-omnibus-und-neuerungen-bei-cbam-vulgo-co2-zoll\/","title":{"rendered":"Tariff, tariff-er, tariff-est? Omnibus and updates to CBAM (aka the CO\u2082 tariff)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The word “tariff<\/strong>,” whose conceptual beauty was recently highlighted by a well-known politician, is currently on everyone’s lips. Long considered a relic of the past, tariff-based trade barriers are experiencing a renaissance. Whether the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)<\/strong> can be classified as a tariff is open to debate; however, this distinction has little bearing on its substantive evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its introduction, the CBAM system has faced significant criticism. The initial simplification measures demonstrate that the European Commission is granting European companies an adaption phase<\/strong>. Nonetheless, criticism of the CBAM has not abated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This ultimately led the European Commission to take further steps toward simplifying the CO\u2082 border adjustment system with the “Omnibus 1<\/strong>” package<\/strong>, presented on February 26th, 2025. The aim of the reform is to reduce administrative hurdles for businesses, particularly SMEs, without compromising the effectiveness of the CBAM in terms of climate protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background: CBAM in the transitional phase<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The CBAM was introduced by Regulation (EU) 2023\/956 and has been in a transitional phase since October 2023. The mechanism aims to establish a carbon pricing system for emissions-intensive products imported from third countries. This is intended to prevent competitive distortions and so-called “carbon leakage<\/strong>” \u2013 the relocation of emissions-intensive production to third countries with less stringent climate regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The aim of the reform is to reduce administrative hurdles for businesses, particularly SMEs.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Key points of the “Omnibus 1” initiative<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. De minimis threshold: 99% of imported emissions still covered<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of the reform is the introduction of an annual quantity threshold<\/strong> of 50 tonnes net mass of CBAM-relevant goods per importer. Companies whose production volumes fall below this threshold will be exempt from the CBAM obligations. Around 90% of current CBAM declarants are expected to benefit from this relief \u2013 without reducing the mechanism’s climate policy impact: According to the Commission, over 99% of imported emissions will continue to fall under the CBAM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Simplified reporting and calculation requirements<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For companies that remain in the scope of the CBAM Regulation, the reform provides several simplifications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n