The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has asked the public to comment on how the European Union’s carbon border tax affects American trade, and on whether Washington should take enforcement action, in a notice published Oct. 8, 2026.
Comments are due Nov. 9, according to Euronews and STR Trade Report. The tax, formally the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), has applied in full since Jan. 1, 2026, to imports of six product groups: iron and steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizer, electricity and hydrogen.
The notice, filed Oct. 7 as document 2026-20615 in the Federal Register (docket USTR-2026-0661), is signed by Amy Kreps, acting assistant U.S. trade representative for environment and natural resources. It says the comments will “help inform continued USTR and U.S. government engagement with the EU on CBAM.”
The USTR asks for views on four points. They are the tax’s costs, regulatory burden and market-access effects on U.S. producers, workers and exports; the effect of three pending proposals to expand it; whether it disadvantages or advantages U.S. companies compared with EU or third-country firms; and “whether and what enforcement action may be appropriate to remedy any negative effects of CBAM,” as STR Trade Report quoted the notice. STR said the notice names no specific tariff or penalty.
Euronews reported that the U.S. position, as set out in the notice, is that the EU “adds a punitive markup” to default emissions estimates, which penalizes firms that do not supply their own emissions data. Euronews said the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, did not respond to a request for comment.
Under CBAM, EU importers must declare the emissions embedded in covered goods and buy certificates to cover them. The notice says importers do not have to pay until September 2027, but obligations have been accruing on goods imported since Jan. 1. Euronews reported in January that certificates are priced in line with the EU carbon market, at roughly €70 to €100 per tonne of carbon dioxide, and that countries with their own carbon pricing can offset the charge.
The three expansion proposals came from the Commission in December 2025, the Council of the EU (representing member governments) in June 2026 and the European Parliament in September 2026. All would extend CBAM to downstream goods made with steel and aluminum, and they must be reconciled in three-way negotiations. The law firm BLG said the Commission’s proposal covers 180 products. Euronews reported that the Irish presidency of the Council wants a deal at a key meeting on Oct. 20, and that Parliament and member states both consider the Commission’s version too narrow but disagree on what to add.
Washington is not the only critic. Euronews reported that Russia has asked the World Trade Organization to set up a panel on whether CBAM is lawful, arguing it creates “significant trade barriers.”
For Canada, the tax is already in force. BLG said Canada is a major aluminum exporter to Europe, and that Québec’s low-carbon hydroelectricity could give Canadian smelters an edge on emissions. Fertilizer is less certain: several EU countries have sought temporary exemptions, according to Euronews, and if fertilizer stays in scope, BLG said, Canadian nitrogen fertilizer exporters could face heavier compliance burdens.
BLG also said it is unclear whether the EU will treat Canada’s federal Output-Based Pricing System, Alberta’s TIER system or Québec’s cap-and-trade as equivalent carbon pricing that can reduce the charge. Ottawa ended the consumer fuel charge in March 2025, but the industrial pricing system remains. No Canadian government response to the U.S. notice had been published at the time of writing.
The next dates to watch are Oct. 20, when EU governments are to try to settle their position on expansion, and Nov. 9, when U.S. comments close. For more on how Brussels is handling trade ties with Ottawa, see France and Germany split on Canada’s place in “Made in Europe”.
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Via Euronews, STR Trade Report and BLG. The Federal Register notice was read directly.
