In January, the EU's imports of primary aluminium dropped sharply due to the implementation of carbon tariffs.
March 23, 2026
Data released on Friday showed that the EU's imports of primary aluminum in January dropped by 83% month-on-month and 57% year-on-year. This was due to the increased procurement costs caused by the EU's newly imposed carbon tariffs on imported aluminum. The EU's imports of primary aluminum in January were 102,074 tons, the lowest monthly total since the trade data monitoring agency (Trade Data Monitor) began recording in 2002. This figure was a significant decline from 587,330 tons in December last year, when imports nearly doubled. This was because buyers concentrated on stocking up before the carbon tariffs officially came into effect. In January, the Gulf countries accounted for 22.9% of the EU's total imports of primary aluminum, higher than the 15.4% in the same period last year. This highlights Europe's unstable reliance on this conflict-affected region, where smelters are struggling to export metals. Since January 1st, the EU has implemented the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for imports of certain commodities, including aluminum and steel, to price carbon emissions in the production process. Due to the recent shutdown of the Mozal smelter, the export volume of Mozambique to the EU in January dropped sharply from nearly 105,000 tons in December to 497 tons. This East African country was previously the EU's largest supplier of primary aluminum. The EU's imports from Canada also dropped significantly to 9,762 tons, while imports from South Africa and the United Arab Emirates increased year-on-year.
