CBAM Scope Extension: What the June 2026 Council Agreement Means for Declarants

ByOfficer

Last updated: June 2026

A Council headline on a CBAM scope extension that reads “strengthen CBAM” is easy to misfile. Read fast, and a reporting team hears that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism changed for everyone this month, that cars and washing machines are now in scope, and that someone needs to start collecting embedded-emissions data on a longer list of goods. None of that follows from what happened on 12 June 2026.

On that date the Council agreed a general approach on a CBAM scope extension to certain downstream goods and on anti-circumvention measures, and the Commission welcomed it. A general approach is the Council’s negotiating position. It is not adopted law, and it does not move a single field in the declaration you file today. The cost of treating it as settled is real: data-collection projects built against a proposal the co-legislators have not finished, on a timeline that is not fixed.

The useful question for declarants is narrow: what is binding in 2026, and what is only proposed for later? Most of the confusion around CBAM right now lives in that gap, so this change note keeps the two buckets apart.

Related reading: our guide to CSRD sustainability reporting, the other large EU disclosure file that lands on the same sustainability teams.

What the Council agreed on a CBAM scope extension

The file in front of the Council is the Commission proposal of 17 December 2025, COM(2025) 989 final, under the ordinary legislative procedure as 2025/0419(COD). It would amend the CBAM Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/956, to extend the mechanism to certain downstream products, reinforce anti-circumvention measures, adapt the rules applicable to electricity, and make targeted technical changes.

The 12 June 2026 step is the Council reaching a general approach on that proposal. A general approach is the mandate the Council carries into trilogue with the European Parliament. The trap teams fall into is reading it as “the EU agreed” and concluding there is an obligation to act on. The base text still has to clear the Parliament and the trilogue before any of it becomes a reporting requirement.

Why a general approach is not a reporting change you file against

Under the ordinary legislative procedure, the Parliament decides on an equal footing with the Council. The Commission has said it expects the Parliament to vote its position in plenary in September, with trilogue discussions to follow once the Parliament has settled its line.

The proposal sets the additional downstream scope to apply from 2028, a proposed start rather than a deadline. The proposed additional downstream goods are not in scope now. Track the file; do not yet report against the proposed extension.

What already binds CBAM declarants in 2026

The part that is in force is the definitive CBAM regime under Regulation (EU) 2023/956, as amended by the simplification Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 of 8 October 2025. CBAM covers six sectors: iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, electricity and hydrogen. The covered goods are defined by Combined Nomenclature code in Annex I of the Regulation, so scope is read off CN codes, not product descriptions.

Since 1 January 2026 the mechanism is in its definitive period. Importing covered goods requires authorised CBAM declarant status, embedded emissions have to be declared, and the financial adjustment runs through CBAM certificates on the timeline the simplification regulation reset. Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 also introduced a single mass-based de minimis threshold of 50 tonnes per importer per calendar year, applied cumulatively across the four mass-based sectors (iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers and cement). Electricity and hydrogen are excluded from this exemption, so an importer of those goods stays in scope regardless of volume. The Commission has presented that threshold as removing the large majority of importers from the regime while still covering nearly all the embedded emissions in the covered sectors.

One operational point gets missed often: the 50-tonne test is cumulative at importer level, not a per-shipment or per-product check. If an importer exceeds the 50-tonne threshold during the year, CBAM obligations apply to all emissions embedded in all covered goods imported during that calendar year, including goods imported before the threshold was exceeded. This exemption sits in the same Omnibus simplification drive that produced the CSRD value-chain cap, and the two files often land on the same compliance function.

Downstream products: what the proposed extension would capture

The extension targets residual carbon leakage that sits further down the value chain, where the carbon is embedded in steel and aluminium already worked into more finished goods. The Commission’s December 2025 proposal would bring in around 180 steel and aluminium-intensive downstream products, and the Council’s 12 June 2026 general approach set out to roughly double that list, reportedly adding around 200 more steel-containing products. Public commentary has flagged categories such as machinery, vehicles and household appliances as candidates within that list.

The common error here is to assume any import containing steel or aluminium becomes a CBAM good. It does not. The extension is a defined list identified by CN code, the same mechanism Annex I already uses for the six current sectors. A part is in scope because it appears on the list, not because it contains a covered material. Until the final additional list is fixed in the adopted text, the precise new CN codes a given importer would report under the proposed extension are not settled, so an early downstream-extension build is premature. Teams that already manage carbon data for the EBA ESG Pillar 3 disclosure templates will recognise the data-sourcing problem, even though CBAM and Pillar 3 are separate regimes.

Anti-circumvention and electricity sit in the technical core

Two further strands matter to how the regime is policed. On anti-circumvention, the proposal uses a flexible and targeted approach, run through implementing and delegated acts, to identify imports at risk of circumvention and practices that would undermine the mechanism. The operative detail will arrive later, in that secondary legislation, rather than in the base text the Council agreed this month. So the conditions that decide whether a specific trade pattern is treated as circumvention are not all written yet.

On electricity, the proposal would change the method for calculating the emission factor for imported electricity and the conditions for declaring actual embedded emissions. This is not a new sector: electricity is already in scope. The key timing point is different from the downstream extension. Under both the Commission proposal and the Council general approach, the electricity changes would apply to imports of electricity that occurred from 1 January 2026, but only if the amending regulation is adopted. The Council text keeps the timing distinction: the electricity methodology changes are tied to 2026 electricity-import data, while the downstream scope extension is proposed to apply from 1 January 2028. Electricity importers should therefore track the file against their 2026 declaration data, not treat it as part of the proposed 2028 downstream build.

What declarants should line up now versus later

The work that pays off today is on the in-force regime. Confirm authorised CBAM declarant status for the entities that import covered goods. Run the 50-tonne threshold test on a cumulative calendar-year basis. Map current imports across the six sectors by CN code, and tighten the supplier channel that produces embedded-emissions data, because that channel is the part most likely to fail under audit.

The work to defer is the proposed additional downstream list. I keep the proposed 2028 extension on a watch list rather than in the reporting build. When the co-legislators agree a final text and the Official Journal carries it, the list becomes real and the build starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 12 June 2026 Council agreement change my CBAM filing now?

No. The Council reached a general approach, which is its negotiating position for trilogue. It is not adopted law and creates no new reporting obligation. Your current CBAM declaration obligations are unchanged by it.

When would downstream products come into scope?

The Commission proposal sets the extended scope to apply from 2028. That start date is proposed, not fixed, and it depends on the European Parliament agreeing its position and on the outcome of the trilogue before the amending regulation is adopted.

Which sectors does CBAM cover today?

Six: iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium, electricity and hydrogen. The specific covered goods are listed by Combined Nomenclature code in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/956.

What is the 50-tonne threshold and is it in force?

It is the single mass-based de minimis exemption introduced by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083. An importer whose mass-based imports (iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers and cement) stay below 50 tonnes in a calendar year is exempt from CBAM obligations, while electricity and hydrogen are excluded from this exemption. It applies now, in the definitive period that began on 1 January 2026.

Are vehicles and household appliances now CBAM goods?

Not yet. They feature in commentary on the downstream list, which the Commission proposed at around 180 steel and aluminium-intensive products and the Council’s general approach moved to roughly double, proposed to apply from 2028 if adopted. Until the final additional list is set by CN code in an adopted text, the proposed additional downstream products are not CBAM goods.

What changes for electricity importers?

The proposal would change how the emission factor for imported electricity is calculated and how actual embedded emissions are declared. Electricity is already a covered sector, so this changes how that sector reports rather than adding a new one. The electricity changes are timed to imports from 1 January 2026 if the amending regulation is adopted, separate from the proposed 2028 downstream start.

Where do I confirm whether a specific good is in scope?

Scope is read from the CN codes in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, as amended. The regulation requires declarants to match their imports against those codes rather than against product names, which is where classification disputes usually start.

Related Articles

Key Takeaways

  • On 12 June 2026 the Council agreed a general approach on extending CBAM to downstream goods and on anti-circumvention measures. It is a negotiating position, not adopted law.
  • The proposal is COM(2025) 989 final of 17 December 2025, procedure 2025/0419(COD), amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956.
  • The Commission proposed adding around 180 steel and aluminium-intensive downstream products; the Council’s general approach moved to roughly double that list, proposed to apply from 2028, subject to the Parliament and the trilogue.
  • Next steps run through the ordinary legislative procedure: a Parliament plenary position expected in September, then trilogue, then adoption and Official Journal publication.
  • In force now: the definitive CBAM regime under Regulation (EU) 2023/956 since 1 January 2026, covering six sectors and requiring authorised CBAM declarant status.
  • Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 introduced a single mass-based de minimis threshold of 50 tonnes per importer per calendar year and reset the CBAM certificate timeline.
  • Scope is defined by CN code in Annex I, so neither the current six sectors nor the proposed downstream list captures a good simply because it contains steel or aluminium.
  • Map and report against the in-force regime now; keep the proposed 2028 downstream list on a watch list until a final text is adopted.

Sources and References

  • European Commission, Taxation and Customs Union, “Commission welcomes Council agreement on strengthening CBAM” (12 June 2026): https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/news/commission-welcomes-council-agreement-strengthening-cbam-2026-06-12_en
  • Finnish Government, “Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism progresses at Ecofin Council” (12 June 2026): https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410877/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-progresses-at-ecofin-council
  • Regulation (EU) 2023/956 establishing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EUR-Lex): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/956/oj
  • Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 of 8 October 2025 amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards simplifying and strengthening the carbon border adjustment mechanism (EUR-Lex, OJ L, 2025/2083, 17.10.2025): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/2083/oj
  • European Commission proposal COM(2025) 989 final of 17 December 2025 (Taxation and Customs Union): https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/document/download/f270fb87-7fbe-4149-ba48-e8a568179db3_en?filename=COM_2025_989_1_EN_ACT_part1_v8.pdf
  • Council of the EU, “Draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards the extension of its scope to downstream goods and anti-circumvention measures – General approach”, Council document 10423/26, interinstitutional file 2025/0419(COD) (12 June 2026): https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/wxcj00ir/st10423en26.pdf
  • European Parliament Legislative Observatory, procedure 2025/0419(COD), CBAM extension to downstream goods and anti-circumvention measures: https://oeil.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/en/document-summary?id=1879956
  • European Commission, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism overview (Taxation and Customs Union): https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en

How to read the next six months of CBAM

Between now and the autumn, the signal worth watching is the Parliament position and then the trilogue, because that is where the downstream CN-code list, the 2028 start and the anti-circumvention conditions either firm up or move. Until a joint text is adopted and published, the only CBAM that binds a declarant is the one already running: six sectors, authorised declarant status, the 50-tonne threshold and embedded-emissions data read off Annex I codes. Keep filing against that, and keep the rest on watch.

Disclaimer: The information on RegReportingDesk.com is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, regulatory, tax, or compliance advice. Always consult your compliance officer, legal counsel, or the relevant supervisory authority for guidance specific to your institution.

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