The European Commission removed 90% of companies from the scope of the CBAM carbon border mechanism.

Omissions

• The 90% figure refers to the share of IMPORTERS (businesses) exempted via a new 50-tonne 'de minimis' mass threshold, not to a reduction of the emissions covered: the Commission explicitly states that around 99% of embedded emissions remain within the CBAM scope.
• The measure was a Commission proposal (Omnibus Simplification Package, February 2025) that was subsequently negotiated and agreed with the Council and Parliament (deal announced June 2025); the exemption is a removal from CBAM OBLIGATIONS for small importers, not a literal deletion of goods from the mechanism.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission – Taxation and Customs Union (CBAM: new Commission proposal will simplify and strengthen)This means keeping around 99% of emissions still in the CBAM scope, while exempting around 90% of the importers. For those importers who ...
• SecondaryEuropean Parliament Press Room – CBAM: Deal with Council to simplify EU carbon leakage instrumentNew de minimis mass threshold of 50 tonnes will exempt 90% of importers from EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) rules.
• SecondaryICAP Carbon Action – EU adopts simplifications of CBAM rules ahead of the compliance phase starting 2026According to the Commission, the new threshold exempts 90% of importers while still covering 99% of embedded emissions from CBAM-covered goods.