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The European Commission has welcomed the provisional political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the proposal to simplify and strengthen the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

Originally presented on 26 February 2025 as part of the “Omnibus I” simplification package, the revised CBAM proposal introduces a 50-tonne exemption threshold per importer per year. This aims to ease compliance for SMEs and individual importers without weakening the regulation’s climate objectives. Despite the exemption, approximately 99% of emissions from CBAM-covered imports will remain within scope.The package also introduces streamlined procedures for all CBAM importers, including improvements to authorisation processes, emissions calculations, data collection, and verification rules. It also simplifies the mechanism to account for carbon costs paid in third countries and clarifies liability rules for CBAM declarants during the import year.

This targeted simplification supports the Clean Industrial Deal by reducing unnecessary red tape and improving cost efficiency, particularly for smaller businesses. The agreement lays the groundwork for a broader CBAM review expected later in 2025, which may extend the mechanism to downstream products and strengthen anti-circumvention provisions. The updated CBAM rules will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal, ahead of the full operational phase starting on 1 January 2026.

CLECAT welcomed the simplification package in general and the technical implementation easements announced since by the Commission, for example the tracking of the new threshold by Customs Authorities at customs clearance. Although indirect representatives may decline CBAM declarant status for EU-based clients, they are – as the amended regulation once again falls short of providing for a dedicated sectoral representative – automatically deemed CBAM declarants for third-country clients. Customs representatives are also required to obtain a CBAM Authorisation, even when their clients are exempt from CBAM obligations. This is forecasted to result in a loss of business for several CLECAT members who have been working for, for example, UK clients under indirect representation. With these conditions, the additional and quite unexpected obligations will be beyond their operational capacity – an unfortunate consequence of the new CBAM rules failing to address the representation issue.