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Carbon Emissions: EU External Trade

Asked by Dr Al PinkertonLiberal DemocratDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 21 November 2025UIN 90953

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the projected cost to British businesses of the European Union's carbon border taxes.

Answered by Chris Bryant

The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism’s (EU CBAM) definitive regime begins January 2026. UK businesses may face administrative costs providing emissions data to EU importers to support their compliance with the EU CBAM. The cost of certificates for the carbon price liability of embedded emissions is borne by EU importers.

To support business readiness, the Department for Business and Trade has compiled a comprehensive package, including webinars, and an upcoming explainer on business.gov.uk. The Government is also engaging with the European Commission on emissions trading scheme linking, which is expected to facilitate a mutual UK-EU CBAM exemption in due course.

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