CSC prepares an additional payment for steel exports according to EU rules

China Steel Corp plans to introduce a moderate premium on steel exports in August next year ahead of new EU carbon regulations, the company said yesterday.

The draft version of the EU's Carbon Borders Regulation Mechanism is due to be released in 2023 and implemented in 2026, affecting 248 items, including rolled metal, the company said.

Although only about 3% of CSC's products are exported to Europe, the company is taking the matter seriously and is committed to minimizing the impact on Taiwan's steel industry, as the regulations will have a deeper impact on downstream companies, it said.

CSC only ships around 330,000 tonnes of steel per year to Europe, but the new regulations could disproportionately affect its customers, who have a greater impact on the European market.

Hwang Chien-ji, executive vice president and spokesman for CSC, said the company plans to introduce a carbon surcharge in August next year, but the details of the scheme, including the amount of the surcharge, have yet to be agreed.

“The first challenge is to actually calculate the carbon footprint of all our products,” Huang said.

Other major economies such as the US and China are also expected to adopt their own carbon pricing schemes soon, he said.

“Not only must CSC develop a carbon pricing scheme, we must do it in a way that is transparent and recognized globally,” Huang said.

According to him, the company is considering Germany's ThyssenKrupp AG as an example when introducing a premium for carbon dioxide emissions.