EU member states imported €1,150.3 million of electricity from Serbia in 2025. The same trade overview identifies three flat-steel product families with combined reported imports exceeding €500 million. The figures are based on broad customs groupings and do not on their own show which individual goods fall under the CBAM product scope.
Electricity classified under HS271600 and EU CN 2716 00 00 totalled 9.84 terawatt-hours. The reported value was $1.30 billion, equivalent to about €1.15 billion, and listed as €1,150.3 million. Because CBAM measures electricity in megawatt-hours, the trade value cannot be compared directly with steel or aluminium tonnage when assessing embedded emissions.
Electricity flows measured in megawatt-hours for CBAM work
The electricity data points to a specific HS and EU CN classification used in customs reporting. It also provides a quantity figure of 9.84 terawatt-hours alongside a reported monetary value. The overview notes that CBAM’s measurement basis differs from the way steel and aluminium tonnage is used in embedded emissions assessments.
For compliance-oriented checks, the trade value alone is therefore not sufficient to support an embedded-emissions comparison across sectors. The documentation requirement is tied to how CBAM measures electricity in megawatt-hours rather than to the customs value reported for the shipment.
Flat-steel and aluminium import values require CN-level verification
EU imports from Serbia of hot-rolled non-alloy flat steel under HS7208 were valued at $384.23 million, or about €340 million using the annual 2025 euro-dollar average. Coated or plated flat steel under HS7210 was worth approximately €109.3 million, while cold-rolled flat steel under HS7209 was about €55.4 million. Together, these three flat-steel families accounted for more than €500 million in reported imports.
The aluminium trade described in the same screening needs extends beyond unwrought metal into processed and fabricated products. EU imports included approximately €148.7 million of plate, sheet and strip under HS7606, €78.6 million of containers and similar packaging under HS7612, and about €62 million of other articles under HS7616. Other imports comprised roughly €44 million of structures under HS7610 and approximately €41.4 million of bars and profiles under HS7604.
The overview states that HS product-family totals can guide prioritisation, but coverage depends on each good’s specific eight-digit EU Combined Nomenclature classification in Annex I. It also notes that some fabricated products in Chapter 73 or Chapter 76 are covered even when they appear less like primary materials.
A separate comparison is provided for scrap categories that fall outside the initial CBAM product list. Serbia-to-EU ferrous scrap trade under HS7204 was around €22 million in 2025, while aluminium scrap under HS7602 was approximately €35 million.
Reconciling shipment data with emissions records for importers
A commercial data extract intended for CBAM work should connect trade value with quantities, origin, producing installation, customs procedure, reporting importer, and CN8 classification. Where companies trade through distributors, product codes must be reconciled with emissions data because the importer must link the reported footprint to the exact goods and quantities brought into the EU.
The screening approach described treats broad HS headings as indicators rather than as a substitute for the CBAM tariff list. It also highlights that a Serbian steel producer may provide plant-level information for a coil, but an EU importer needs a defensible allocation of emissions to the product classification and imported quantity.
The overview adds that downstream steel articles involve additional detail related to precursor-material requirements and process boundaries. It also states that a generic certificate describing a company’s average footprint is not sufficient on its own for this allocation purpose.
Certain calculations depend on embedded emissions and carbon price adjustments
The material says importers cannot calculate certificate obligations by multiplying a chapter’s total customs value by an emissions price. Instead, charges depend on embedded emissions, applicable adjustments, carbon prices recognised as already paid in the country of origin, and the phase-out of EU free allowances.
The immediate business priority identified is a reconciled CN8 register rather than another sector ranking. It should start with EU member-state import data where origin is Serbia, limit 2025 flows to each legally applicable CN8 code, and exclude goods that are not covered.
The overview concludes that until extraction at CN8 level is complete, broad HS4-family figures remain screening proxies rather than a complete audited CN8 CBAM import ledger.
Elevated by CBAM by Clarion Engineer