CBAM and Fertiliser Exports to the EU — What Suppliers Must Prepare in the Definitive Period

The short answer

The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) enters its definitive period on 1 January 2026. The legal duty to declare and to pay sits with the EU importer, but the embedded-emissions data the declaration needs comes from the non-EU producer — you. For a supplier exporting fertilisers or fertiliser inputs to the EU in 2026, the task is not to pay the tax. It is three things: confirm whether your HS/CN codes are in scope, be able to produce verifiable emissions data, and write the data and the cost responsibility into the contract.

Why CBAM exists

EU producers pay a carbon price for their emissions through the EU ETS. If carbon-intensive goods are imported from countries with looser carbon constraints, that cost is effectively bypassed — carbon leakage. CBAM makes imported goods account for that cost at the EU ETS price, covering six sectors: cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen.

What is covered: check the code, not the product name

For the fertiliser category, the relevant CN code ranges are 2808, 2814, 2834, 3102 and 3105 (as listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/956). A preliminary read for this product family — your own HS/CN classification always governs:

• Compound and water-soluble fertilisers under HS 3105 are very likely within the CBAM fertiliser list
• Sodium sulphate (2833), magnesium sulphate (2833), magnesium oxide (2519) and ammonium chloride (2827) fall outside the fertiliser CN codes used by CBAM and are currently out of scope
• Guessing from the product name is not reliable; each shipment has to be matched to the list by CN code

Who carries the obligation

The authorised CBAM declarant — the EU importer — files the declaration and buys the CBAM certificates. An exporter cannot declare on its own behalf. The exporting supplier's role is to provide verified, shipment-level emissions data and to keep the production records behind it.

Where verified data is not available, the importer may fall back on default values, which are generally higher; that cost can return to the supplier through the contract. This is the direct reason EU buyers have been asking their suppliers for emissions data since 2026 began.

The data and documents to give your buyer

A workable pack covers:

• Producer and installation details — site, process route, capacity
• Output and energy use per shipment (coal, gas, electricity)
• Electricity source and emission factor
• Inputs and outputs of the process
• Evidence of any carbon price already paid, which can be deducted on the EU side

Timeline

2026 is mainly a data and reporting obligation; the purchase and surrender of CBAM certificates begins in 2027. Imports are counted against a single importer's total for the year, and importers below 50 tonnes a year are exempt. Whether the exemption applies is decided by the buyer's volume — a supplier cannot assume it is exempt.

Three things to do now

Do these three and you are not caught out when the certificate cost becomes real in 2027:

• Match every EU-bound SKU to its HS/CN code and confirm whether it is in scope
• Collect shipment-level emissions data from the plant and, where possible, have it verified by an accredited body
• Add data-provision and cost-sharing clauses to the contract template

Do not confuse CBAM with the EU fertilising products rules

CBAM is about carbon cost at the border. Whether a product may be placed on the EU market is governed by the Fertilising Products Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 and the related CE requirements. It is one market with two compliance systems and two document sets, and buyers often ask about both at once.

Advice for buyers

State in the RFQ and the contract who provides the emissions data, who carries the default-value risk and how the cost is shared, and confirm the HS/CN code before ordering. If a code is uncertain, have the customs broker or the EU buyer confirm it first.

Sources

European Commission — CBAM: https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en

European Commission — CBAM definitive regime: https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/cbam-definitive-regime_en

European Commission — CBAM legislation and guidance: https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/cbam-legislation-and-guidance_en

Regulation (EU) 2023/956: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/956/oj

Fertilising Products Regulation (EU) 2019/1009: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1009/oj