Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to hurt India’s exports: Sitharaman

10 Oct 2024 Evaluate

Expressing some cautiousness, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism or CBAM is unilateral and arbitrary and will hurt India’s exports after its implementation by the European Union. CBAM are tariffs that will apply on energy-intensive goods imported into the European Union (EU). The EU has decided to impose carbon tax CBAM from January 1, 2026, on seven carbon-intensive sectors, including steel, cement, and fertiliser. Engineering goods will come under the purview of this import duty. She said it is a border tax introduced by the EU, and such moves are going to create a trade barrier.

Against this, she said, India has voiced its concern several times to the EU, and the government is also looking at ways to reduce the cost of transactions. The decision by the EU may affect the profitability of Indian exporters, as Europe is among the top export destinations for the country. India’s total trade with the EU was $137.41 billion in 2023-24, with imports at $61.48 billion and exports at $75.93 billion. However, she said it was unlikely that India’s opposition to the CBAM would be a barrier to finalising the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU. She said ‘I am sure it won’t be escalated to the level of hurting the (FTA) talks’.

She further exuded the confidence that India would achieve net Zero by 2070. She said ‘we are on track to achieve 2030 carbon emission reduction goals’, and added that the Budget has allocated made huge allocation for battery storage. On India’s green initiatives, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led from the front in setting the agenda for the country, and the commitments given in the UN climate change conference COP 21 were fulfilled by India well ahead of time, with its own resources.

On the decarbonisation of India’s economy, she said the government has brought in the PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme for 13 sunrise sectors, which included green energy. She said ‘We also have PLI for automobiles and electric vehicles. So, budget has never been a constraint in promoting the green sectors’. About the ‘PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana’, she said the scheme has been provided budgetary support and received an overwhelming response from the citizens. She added two million applications have come since its launch, and the target is 10 million.


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