The EU’s proposed carbon tariff gets a mixed reaction from industry

SINCE THE EUEUCBAMEU launched its emissions trading system in 2005, industries have followed divergent greenhouse-gas trajectories. The power sector has cut them by half. Among cement- and steelmakers, which got free allowances for four-fifths of their exhausts to stop the shift of production abroad, they have barely budged.The European Commission wants to end this handout. Last month the ’s executive arm proposed new rules to help the bloc meet its goal of cutting emissions by 55% from levels in 1990 by 2030. One proposal would withdraw free allowances for producers of aluminium, cement, fertiliser, iron and steel, and levy import tariffs on these products based on their carbon content. This “carbon border adjustment mechanism” () aims to level the playing field. If Europe’s steel mills must pay for the carbon they spew, so will their Chinese rivals selling to the .