Germany’s non-ferrous metals industry association Wirtschaftsvereinigung Metalle formally called for aluminium to be excluded from the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in a position submitted on 2 November 2026, according to an entry in the German Bundestag’s official lobbying register.
The register entry gives limited detail about the economic arguments behind the request. It records an industry demand, not a government proposal or an EU decision to remove aluminium from CBAM. The filing does not change current obligations for aluminium exporters, which must continue preparing applicable emissions data and compliance documentation.
Aluminium is one of six initial sectors covered by the definitive EU CBAM regime, alongside steel, cement, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. CBAM is intended to align carbon costs for covered imports more closely with those faced by European producers under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).
Commercial concerns vary across the aluminium supply chain. Manufacturers purchasing primary aluminium, extrusions, castings and other metal inputs have different concerns from producers competing with imported primary metal. Carbon-related import costs can increase input prices for European downstream manufacturers, particularly when competing finished products are not subject to equivalent obligations. The current treatment can create a difference between imported metals and more complex industrial goods made from them.
The European Union is separately negotiating proposed downstream extensions to address some of those concerns, but the negotiations do not change current law. The debate is relevant to the future positioning of aluminium production, processing and electricity-intensive industrial investment in Montenegro. Potential implications for Serbia include aluminium fabrication, automotive components, electrical equipment and industrial supply chains.
A future reduction in CBAM coverage could lower certain compliance costs for exporters, but the commercial consequences would depend on which products were excluded, their emissions profiles and how European producers were treated. Until any change to the rules, exporters must continue preparing emissions data and documentation under current requirements.