Dec 29, 2023
New EU CBAM scandal: CO2 data farce threatens EU industry! – Stainless Espresso
2024-01-18
29 December 2023 – Shortly before Christmas, on 22 December 2023, the European Commission published the default data for the upcoming CBAM declarations from January 2024. The Commission had already published the basic studies on this in June 2022 and September 2023. An analysis of the data shows “the experts” in Brussels have no idea about steel production or where the imported products really come from.
New EU CBAM scandal: CO2 data farce threatens EU industry!
Watch out, Europe! A new scandal is rocking the EU: your so-called “experts” have once again pulled another absurd prank – this time it’s about the Carbon Border Tax, or CBAM for short. It may sound fancy, but it’s a total disaster!
The basis for this CBAM system? A bad joke! It was based on data from the 15 main importers and Japan. Sounds solid at first? Not at all!
EU data basis for CO2 calculation puzzling
Scandal number 1: The focus was on countries such as Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Norway and Ukraine – countries that hardly produce or export any stainless steel to the EU. So why use these of all countries for the CO2 calculation? Mysterious!
Has Brussels’ moral green finger already turned black when it comes to CO2?
Scandal number 2: European stainless steel is hardly any better than Chinese stainless steel! For years, Chinese steel and stainless steel have been labelled as CO2-intensive and dirty. Not the case with stainless steel! What would have happened if the CO2 data for Indonesian stainless steel had been included in the calculation? Would Brussels’ moral green pointer finger have turned black?
All stainless steel grades simply thrown into a pot
Scandal number 3: These experts have taken all stainless steel grades from an expensive, non-public database, thrown them together and calculated an average value. No matter how different the global quantities and compositions are. Nickel-containing and non-nickel-containing steels? All the same, says Brussels!
Stainless steel production: Brussels’ experts technologically outdated?
Scandal number 4: The EU still believes that stainless steel production is mainly based on carbon crude steel in the EAF and subsequent re-seasoning with ferroalloys. Hello, wake up! This is as outdated as the belief in the stainless steel alloy surcharge as a price driver!
CBAM default values: ignoring reality
The bitter conclusion: the CBAM default values for stainless steel are not only unreliable, they are a bad joke. Another scandal in the long list of blunders in this insane project. And now real data is to be demanded and penalties imposed from mid-2024? Ridiculous!
Now we need to keep an eye on the other default values. Because it seems that things have not been right at CBAM for a long time.
EU industry pays the price for Brussels’ ignorance
EU, watch out: You are playing with fire – and our industry is paying the price! However, as we know, you don’t give a damn! Because from an ivory tower, you don’t care about most things.
Source: Steel News
