Posted on 13 Oct 2026
The total cost of the cross-border carbon adjustment mechanism (CBAM) for steel products could reach €5 billion a year. This was revealed in an interview with Platts (part of S&P Global Energy) by Gianfranco Imperato, CEO of the Swiss-Italian industrial group Trasteel.
In his view, the burden on consumers is likely to be considerably greater, as the mechanism will trigger a general rise in steel prices.
European regulators expect the CBAM to encourage companies to cut emissions and switch to steel production with a lower carbon footprint. However, Imperato does not expect this to happen in the short term: before investing in decarbonisation, producers first need to regain confidence in the future and a willingness to invest.
As far as Trasteel is concerned, the destination countries for the company’s trade flows have not changed significantly following the introduction of the CBAM and the tightening of the EU’s protective measures. However, according to the CEO, the geography of supplies is adapting to the available import quotas. The main change concerns steel slabs: due to the absence of Russian and Ukrainian supplies, the company has increased its purchases from the Far East.
Weak demand in Europe is currently holding back any significant rise in prices. However, Imperato expects that, over time, the main impact of the new trade restrictions and the CBAM will be felt precisely in product prices. At the same time, uncertainty is deterring companies and banks from investing in new production capacity. Consequently, any shortages of certain products, such as PPGI, will have to be met primarily by increasing capacity utilisation at existing plants rather than by building new facilities — at least for the next few years.
The director also criticised the EU’s approach, which, in his view, relies too heavily on carbon taxes rather than subsidies that would help businesses transition to cleaner technologies. He believes that the current policy imposes an additional burden rather than facilitating the transition.
According to Gianfranco Imperato, the world has entered a post-globalisation era, in which trading conditions across different macro-regions are becoming increasingly divergent. As a result, the processing sector may see an increase in regional players and a decline in companies operating globally. Trasteel itself has opted for a ‘multi-local’ presence model — deeper integration in individual countries rather than a superficial presence across a large number of markets.
It should be recalled that in the autumn of 2026, the European Competition Authority approved the acquisition by Trasteel of the Italian Magona plant in Piombino — a former Liberty Steel asset. The plant produces flat galvanised and pre-painted steel products, with an annual production capacity of around 630–700 thousand tonnes of steel products.
Source:GMK Center
