The CBAM came into force on 1 January and aims to impose a carbon tax on imports of certain products into the EU customs territory in order to compensate European producers of those same products for their decarbonisation efforts. To date, CBAM applies to fertilisers, steel, aluminium, cement, electricity and hydrogen. Other products , such as industrial machinery and household appliances, will be added in the future.

Having only just come into force, the CBAM mechanism is likely to be suspended straight away, at least as far as fertilisers are concerned. This was announced by European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič following the meeting of the 27 agriculture ministers held in Brussels on 7 January 2026. The measure would aim to help the agricultural sector, which is in crisis, weakened by concerns raised by the signing of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

In order to suspend the CBAM, the Commission will have to reform the mechanism again by introducing a new Article 27a into Regulation 2023/956. The Article in question will authorise the Commission to temporarily remove products from the scope of the mechanism if it considers that the carbon adjustment affecting them “seriously harms the internal market of the Union due to serious and unforeseen circumstances” :

Article 27 bis ‘Serious and unforeseen circumstances’:

“The Commission shall monitor the situation at Union level with a view to monitoring the impact of the CBAM on the Union internal market. Where the Commission, taking into account the relevant evidence, considers that the inclusion of a good in Annex I causes severe harm to the Union internal market due to serious and unforeseen circumstances related to the impact on the prices of goods, it is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 28 to remove this good from Annex I until those serious and unforeseeable circumstances have passed”.

This is therefore an emergency measure, the effects of which should cease as soon as the ‘circumstances’ that led to its adoption no longer apply.

The possibility of making this measure retroactive is not explicitly stated in the text of the draft, but it is not ruled out either. Thus, if the Commission considers that the serious and unforeseen “circumstances” causing significant harm to the internal market of the Union existed prior to the publication of the delegated act introducing Article 27a, it may declare the measure retroactive. The Commission has already explained this possibility in an FAQ published on 8 January, anticipating the adoption of Article 27a.

If Article 27a is adopted, fertiliser importers could immediately reduce their prices by deducting the costs set aside to purchase MACF certificates. European fertiliser producers will therefore be the only ones unhappy with this outcome, having invested heavily in decarbonising their facilities and hoping for a return to fair competition.

By Evguenia DEREVIANKINE , founding partner,

and Matthieu LEVASSEUR , legal assistant.

14 January 2026

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