Germany named the agency responsible for CBAM

Germany has decided on the body that will be responsible for the cross-border carbon adjustment mechanism (CBAM). Steel News reports this with reference to information from the Federal Ministry for the Economy and Climate Protection (BMWK).

The German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) will become the central contact point for reporting CO₂ emissions from imports of products ranging from steel to aluminum. According to the portal, this was a breakthrough after months of difficult negotiations between several ministries. In particular, the stainless steel distributor Gerber Group has been in intensive dialogue with the German authorities and BMWK on this issue for a long time. According to the company’s CEO Torsten Gerber, CBAM remains a «bureaucratic nightmare,» especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The DEHSt will take on the new role from the beginning of 2024, with a few technical issues still to be resolved.

As GMK Center reported earlier, the introduction of CBAM on October 1, 2023, caused difficulties for traders. In particular, Alexander M. Julius of Germany’s Macrometal noted that customs did not have a ready-made system at the time and could not inform traders what exactly was required. In addition, he recalled that Berlin had not decided which agencies were responsible for CBAM.

Also, in the fall of 2023 the Spanish association of steel producers Unesid expressed concern the lack of a competent administration in the country that would manage issues arising in connection with CBAM.