Morocco and the EU's carbon border tax (CBAM)
Since 1 January 2026, European importers pay for the carbon emitted to produce the cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen they import. This page measures the Moroccan exports concerned: their value, sectors and weight in trade with Europe.
1.01 bn $ of covered exports to the EU in 2023
Updated : 13 November 2026
Fertilisers: 68% of covered exports to the EU
1.01 bn $covered exports to the EU (2023)
3.7 %of all exports to the EU
19 %of these sectors’ exports go to the EU, the rest elsewhere
Covered exports to the EU by sector (2023)
- Fertilisers 686 M $
- Iron and steel 197 M $
- Aluminium 64 M $
- Electricity 36 M $
- Cement 24 M $
Fertilisers covered: ammonia, nitric acid, nitrogen and compound fertilisers, including ammonium phosphates (DAP, MAP). Simple phosphate fertilisers (TSP) and phosphoric acid are not covered.
Change since 2012 (USD million)
What this means
- The Moroccan exporter does not pay directly: the European importer buys CBAM certificates. But the cost can pass through to prices, contracts and competitiveness.
- The first certificates are bought from February 2027, for 2026 imports. The burden rises gradually to 2034 as free allowances for European producers are phased out.
- The actual cost depends on each plant’s emissions and the EU carbon price. This page only measures the exports concerned; it does not estimate the cost.
- The 2024 and 2025 figures published by UN Comtrade for Morocco are close to double the previous year (total exports of 80.57 bn $ against 42.46 bn $ in 2023), a jump that actual trade does not explain; they are set aside until corrected, and brought back automatically afterwards.
- Values in current dollars as reported by Morocco to the United Nations, 2012 to 2023, published with about a one-year lag. Customs classification is approximated at 6 digits.
Source: UN Comtrade (Morocco-reported exports), Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, Observatory calculations. Regulation (EU) 2025/2083