India to oppose CBAM at WTO meeting

India plans to test the European Union's import carbon tax (CBAM) at the next meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be held at the end of February. The country claims this will become a new trade barrier.

New Delhi, along with South Africa and other countries with similar views, plans to insist on the need to limit EU unilateral measures at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, according to senior government officials.

Earlier, India had decided to lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the EU's proposal to impose 20-35 per cent customs duty on imports of high-carbon goods such as steel, iron ore and cement under CBAM.

The EU has said it carefully designed the CBAM to ensure it complies with WTO rules and applies the same carbon price to imports as it does to EU producers.

India also opposes EU rules banning imports of products produced by deforestation in the country of origin, which would affect India's exports by billions of dollars.

Due to technical problems, companies that had difficulty submitting their first CBAM report were given an additional month of time. During the transition phase, importers were required to submit their declarations for the fourth quarter of 2023 by January 31, 2024.