Work to determine CBAM default values for Turkish cement, clinker 'ongoing:' European Commission

The European Commission has confirmed that it is working on publishing Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism default values for Turkish cement and clinker.

"Work is ongoing with the Turkish authorities to fill remaining data gaps needed to derive default values for cement/clinker," an official spokesperson said March 4.

Default CBAM values for most products and origin countries were published Dec. 17, 2025, but Turkish cement and clinker values remain absent from the latest version published Feb. 13.

The European Commission has not officially confirmed the reason for the absence of cement and clinker default values for cargoes originating in Turkey and would not comment on when they would be published.

Turkish Cement Manufacturers' Association TurkCimento said Feb. 25 that the omission could act as a de facto non-tariff barrier for the country's cement industry.

"Because no country-specific default value has been defined for Turkey, the application of the highest emission coefficients under the 'other countries' category places our sector at an unfair disadvantage," Volkan Bozay, CEO of TurkCimento, said.

Bozay said actual data reported by TurkCimento members exporting to the EU during the CBAM transition period in Turkey shows emissions for gray cement clinker are 0.88 mtCO2/metric ton. In contrast, the default value used for Turkey under EU legislation is 1.551 mtCO2/mt, Bozay said.

The resulting amount even exceeds the average unit price of products exported to the EU, directly threatening the economic sustainability of exports, he said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed ordinary Portland cement (CEM I 42.5R) (bulk) at $52/mt CEMDEX Turkey Feb. 26, while the assessment for cement clinker (OPC gray clinker) was at $45/mt.