EU member states are scheduled to vote in September 2026 on the implementing regulation that defines which foreign carbon prices importers can deduct from their CBAM certificate obligations. Carbon Pulse reported the timing in early July 2026, citing a European Commission official. The report gives the Article 9 deduction, a direct certificate-cost variable for importers sourcing from carbon-priced jurisdictions such as the UK and China, a concrete adoption timetable for the first time.
The rules being put to the vote build on the draft implementing regulation the Commission published on May 13, 2026, which sets out how third-country emissions trading prices, carbon taxes, rebates, and compensation convert into reductions of CBAM liability. Public feedback on that draft closed on June 10, 2026. A September vote would settle the deduction framework roughly a year before the first CBAM declaration falls due on September 30, 2027, and four to five months before certificate sales open on February 1, 2027.
What Carbon Pulse reported, and what remains unconfirmed
Carbon Pulse reported in early July 2026, citing a Commission official, that EU member states will vote in September on the implementing regulation defining which foreign CO₂ prices importers can deduct from their CBAM certificate obligations. The Commission itself has not announced a vote date. The September timing rests on that single report, so compliance teams should treat it as a stated plan, not a fixed appointment, and the vote has not yet taken place.
The procedural route is comitology. Implementing regulations under Regulation (EU) 2023/956 go before the CBAM Committee, where member state representatives deliver an opinion on the Commission's text. A positive opinion clears the Commission to adopt the regulation and publish it in the Official Journal. Committee agendas can slip, which is why the September date matters as a signal of Commission intent rather than as a deadline importers can rely on.
What the draft deduction rules cover
The vote concerns the draft implementing regulation of May 13, 2026, which sets out how a carbon price effectively paid in a third country converts into a reduction of the CBAM certificates an authorized declarant must surrender. The draft, based on Article 9(5) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, covers the conversion of third-country ETS prices and carbon taxes into euro, and the netting-off of rebates and compensation that reduce the price a producer effectively paid. The deduction changes the number of certificates surrendered, not the price per certificate, which remains set by the EU ETS-linked pricing mechanism.
One draft provision carries particular weight: the text states that the rules will apply retroactively from January 1, 2026 once adopted, covering carbon prices paid from the start of the current CBAM year. That provision, like everything else in the draft, can still change before adoption. The table below shows the full timeline from the first call for evidence to the deadlines the rules must serve.
| Milestone | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Call for evidence on carbon prices paid in third countries | August 28 to September 25, 2025 | Closed |
| Draft implementing regulation published | May 13, 2026 | Complete |
| Public feedback window | May 13 to June 10, 2026 | Closed |
| Member state vote in the CBAM Committee | September 2026 | Planned, per Carbon Pulse |
| Adoption and Official Journal publication | Not confirmed | Pending |
| Certificate sales open | February 1, 2027 | Fixed |
| First CBAM declaration applying the deduction | September 30, 2027 | Fixed |
The draft's recognition pathways, its treatment of free allocation and export rebates, and its certification requirements are analyzed in full in the CBAM carbon price deduction guide.
Which jurisdictions the deduction touches first
Four jurisdictions dominate the deduction question for EU importers: the UK, China, South Korea, and Turkey. Each combines significant CBAM-covered exports to the EU with a carbon pricing scheme that is operating, expanding, or planned. The table below summarizes where each stands as of July 2026.
| Jurisdiction | Carbon pricing instrument | Position ahead of the vote |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | UK ETS, operating since 2021 | Recognition would cut certificate bills on UK-origin goods; separate UK-EU linkage talks could go further |
| China | National ETS, expanding across CBAM sectors | Does not yet qualify; the draft's recognition criteria will decide whether that changes |
| South Korea | K-ETS | Leading candidate among major exporters for a qualifying deduction |
| Turkey | National ETS planned | No carbon price effectively paid today; pilot-phase free allocation would leave little to deduct even once the ETS launches |
For UK-origin goods, the deduction interacts with two other moving parts. The UK launches its own CBAM on January 1, 2027, and a UK commission urged reciprocal UK-EU CBAM exemptions in July, warning of a bill of up to £800 million for UK exporters by 2030. Until Article 9 recognition or a broader linkage lands, producers in third countries selling into both markets face the UK CBAM and EU CBAM double-payment risk with no offset between the two regimes.
Turkey shows why the timetable matters for planned schemes. CBAM Turkey exposure runs to €19 billion in annual EU exports with no qualifying carbon price in place, so every euro of certificate cost currently lands on EU importers of Turkish cement and steel in full. Once Ankara's planned ETS starts generating a price that producers effectively pay, the September rules will define how quickly that price converts into lower certificate bills.
China presents the reverse case: a scheme that exists but does not yet qualify. CBAM China compliance currently runs on default values as high as 3.167 tCO₂e per tonne for steel slab, and even a recognized Chinese ETS price would offset only part of the EU certificate cost, because the deduction is proportional to the price effectively paid. The question extends beyond these four countries: India is accelerating its CCTS carbon market with CBAM recognition explicitly in view.
What importers and exporters should do before the vote
Importers should map their 2026 import origins against operating carbon pricing schemes now, because the draft states the rules will apply retroactively from January 1, 2026 once adopted. Four preparation steps follow from the September timetable.
- Map 2026 imports by country of origin and flag every origin with an operating or imminent carbon price.
- Collect installation-level evidence of carbon prices effectively paid, net of free allocation, rebates, and compensation.
- Model certificate liability with and without the deduction in the CBAM cost calculator.
- Follow the claim workflow in the step-by-step CBAM Article 9 deduction guide for EU importers.
Exporters in carbon-priced jurisdictions hold the documentation their EU customers will need. Producers who can show what they paid per tonne of CO₂, and what they received back through free allocation or compensation, become easier suppliers to keep once deductions go live. The country-by-country picture of who qualifies is mapped in the CBAM Article 9 qualification guide.
What happens next
If the CBAM Committee delivers a positive opinion in September, the Commission can adopt the implementing regulation in autumn 2026, roughly a year before the first declaration deadline of September 30, 2027. That sequencing matters for certificate budgeting. Certificate sales open on February 1, 2027, and an importer who knows their deduction entitlement before that date buys fewer certificates from day one. The purchasing mechanics are themselves still being settled: the Commission is consulting on the certificate sale and repurchase rules ahead of the same February 2027 opening.
If the vote slips or member states reject the text, importers head toward the first declaration with only the general wording of Article 9 and no technical rules on evidence, conversion, or certification. Either way, the deduction is one of the few levers that reduce a CBAM bill without changing what or where you buy. For the full mechanics from foreign carbon price to reduced certificate count, read the carbon price deduction guide.