Sweden will be helping India to develop industry and make more sustainable model that will help India cater to the rules and regulations of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) confirmed
Sara Modig, State Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Climate, Government of Sweden.
Even Jan Thesleff Ambassador of Sweden to India echoed similar sentiment, while being asked to what extent India can expect support from Sweden and whether Swedish government and industries will be willing to handhold Indian companies navigate through, Modig replied , “ Yes, we are holding hands. That's part of our whole collaboration and I think Sweden has been at the forefront, not only in this (auto) sector but others also, in being very open for technology transfer.”
CBAM is a tax imposed on European importers if they buy products from countries whose production emits more carbon dioxide per tonne than equivalent goods manufactured within the EU.
As per the analysis by European non-profit think-tank Sandberg, Indian exporters of iron and steel to the European Union might be levied a total tariff of about €301 million (approximately ₹3,000 crore) in CBAM fees - the highest among all countries exporting similar products to the EU.
As India and European Union plan to get into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), India has often raised concerns about CBAM and even considered it as a protectionist trade barrier, particularly for carbon intensive sector like steel and cement. However, Swedish officials assured even for such sectors , Sweden will be helping Indian to transition to a greener model.
“India is so much in an expansive mode. So much is we see how you are developing your steel industry is growing by 10-12% per year, maybe even more. So when you expand your capacity, of course you have an enormous chance to expand it in a green way,” added the State Secy. And she further assured that India has the ability to scale up the production of green steel and India could drive the transition.
“It's more difficult to green something that is old, but it's easy to green something that you implement for the first time. So in India, with its expansive economy, with its vision, with the ambition of the government, of course you can be in the driver's seat when it comes to this,” added Modig. India and EU have agreed to close 10 out of 20 chapters for the FTA. EU Negotiating team will visit next week for the next round of negotiations.
