The European Union imported 30.34 billion euros of covered aluminium products in 2025, equal to about 9.14 million tonnes, but the total does not show how much will require certificates under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Supplies from countries exempt from CBAM are included, so the overall volume does not establish certificate exposure for European buyers.
Norway supplied 1.55 million tonnes and Iceland 821,000 tonnes, making them the largest and second-largest suppliers by mass; both are exempt from CBAM. Türkiye was the next major origin, supplying 684,000 tonnes. The figures cover products from non-EU origins, but supplier country alone does not determine the emissions relevant to an importer.
Installation data shapes supplier comparisons
For aluminium, the currently chargeable carbon component is determined by smelter process emissions and precursor treatment. Importers comparing suppliers that are not exempt need installation-level evidence, rather than assumptions based solely on country of origin. Purchased electricity affects a company’s wider emissions performance, but indirect electricity emissions are not included in the current aluminium certificate calculation.
A general guarantee of renewable electricity does not by itself establish the CBAM emissions calculation for an imported good. Product classification and production history determine the relevant emissions boundaries. Unwrought aluminium under CN 7601 is a core category, while articles and semi-finished forms have their own product codes and emissions boundaries.
Suppliers making low-carbon claims should identify the smelter and relevant precursors and provide verified direct-emissions information for the imported good. They should keep broader electricity-footprint claims separate from that information.
Processors weigh compliance costs and purchasing terms
Rolling mills, foundries and extruders are often the first European businesses to use imported aluminium, processing ingots, billets or slabs into sheet, profiles, castings or components. Their downstream buyers include vehicle plants, packaging manufacturers, electrical equipment businesses and construction-product suppliers.
An intermediate processor may import aluminium and assume the CBAM obligation itself, or buy material from a distributor that already carries the associated compliance cost. Who carries that cost affects the processor’s purchasing leverage and the information it can obtain.
The free-allocation adjustment for European processors is set to diminish through 2034, which may make lower-emissions aluminium more attractive. Commercial outcomes also depend on premiums, freight, scrap use, recycling capacity and customer demand. A competitive position depends on comparing delivered cost and carbon performance at product level, while maintaining defensible documentation from the metal producer to the industrial customer.