EU may pause carbon levy on fertilizers if market damage emerges

The European Union may temporarily suspend its carbon border levies on goods including fertilizers should monitoring uncover any “unforeseen” market impact, Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said.

Sefcovic commented after French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard indicated in a posting on X earlier Wednesday that the EU was set to suspend its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism with respect to fertilizers in order to help farmers struggling with extra costs.

The European Commission will issue guidance on a measure it proposed in December that would allow for a temporary suspension of the CBAM on certain goods such as fertilizers should market monitoring indicate there was a need to do so, the commissioner said. Fertilizer prices will be closely monitored.


The EU’s executive branch will also propose temporarily suspending most-favored nation tariffs on ammonia and other fertilizers to help counter costs stemming from the introduction of the levy at the start of this year.

France has been rallying support for the exemption of fertilizers from carbon border levies. Farmers in the country have been holding angry protests over rising costs, stringent regulations and cheap imports.

The CBAM, which took effect on Jan. 1, seeks to shield the EU’s carbon-intensive sectors from unfair competition during the bloc’s green transition — particularly from producers operating in nations with weaker climate laws. But it has drawn criticism from trading partners over protectionist implications, including China, which vowed to take countermeasures.