Germany bought about €75 million of Serbian aluminium and aluminium articles in 2025, while Slovenia purchased about €72 million, according to EU import figures. Together, the two countries were the largest directly recorded EU markets for the trade. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is increasing the importance of verified product-level emissions data for suppliers serving these markets.
EU imports of Serbian aluminium and aluminium articles under HS76 totalled $505.7 million, or approximately €448 million, in 2025. France accounted for €64 million, followed by Croatia at €36 million and Romania at €35 million. The trade involves alloy, gauge and surface-quality specifications alongside a verified account of associated emissions.
The country totals reflect customs-entry markets rather than the factories that ultimately incorporated the metal into construction systems, machinery or transport equipment. German and Slovenian processors can aggregate purchases and produce components for customers across several EU markets. This means customs destinations do not necessarily indicate end-use sectors for the imported aluminium.
HS76 import mix shows processed products alongside primary metal
EU imports included about €149 million of Serbian aluminium plate, sheet and strip under HS7606. Containers under HS7612 were valued at about €79 million. Other aluminium articles under HS7616 accounted for roughly €62 million, while profiles under HS7604 were worth around €41 million.
The composition indicates trade in processed metal products rather than only primary smelting. Serbian aluminium scrap under HS7602 was also traded, but it is not covered by the initial CBAM annex. Scrap should therefore be excluded from a precise CBAM-aligned trade total.
Commercial terms and documentation responsibilities in CBAM supply chains
A Serbian exporter may work with a distributor that carries inventory risk and certificate exposure. A separate manufacturing customer can specify the alloy and carbon data required for compliance. For exporters, identifying who sets commercial terms can be as important as identifying the customs destination.
Impol Seval, a major Serbian rolled-aluminium producer, reported about €89.7 million in export receipts in the first six months of 2025. The company named Germany, Italy and France among its key markets. Its disclosures point to industrial export demand and domestic rolling capacity, while not establishing that specific shipments went to vehicles, aircraft or branded consumer packaging.
The documentation needed to identify final customers or uses would require contract or supply-chain evidence. Under current CBAM coverage, the cost passed on to an EU purchaser depends on direct embedded emissions, the production route, precursor inputs and verification. Electricity procurement remains relevant to plant competitiveness and buyer sustainability requirements.
The treatment of electricity emissions is also specified: indirect electricity emissions should not simply be added to the initial CBAM certificate calculation for aluminium. Suppliers are expected to distinguish legal emissions reporting from voluntary low-carbon commercial claims. This affects how emissions information is presented across trading arrangements.
Serbia’s finance ministry estimates CBAM exposure for aluminium
Serbia’s Ministry of Finance estimated the country’s aluminium CBAM exposure at €19.5 million in 2026. It projected that exposure to remain near that level through much of the projection period. The estimate keeps 2025 exports fixed and uses default emissions values.
The ministry noted that actual obligations could differ as transactions change, verified factory emissions vary and EU certificate prices move. It also modelled possible relief if EU authorities recognise carbon prices paid in Serbia, while stating that such recognition cannot be assumed automatically. Suppliers able to allocate emissions to specific product batches and disclose data consistently across trading entities are better placed to defend access to European manufacturing chains than those relying on generic low-carbon figures.
The ministry’s modelling also ties compliance performance to documentary requirements as well as physical quality evidence for products entering EU supply chains. In this context, suppliers’ ability to demonstrate both types of information is described as relevant when seeking continuity in European manufacturing demand.
Elevated by CBAM.Clarion Engineer