世界贸易组织法视域下欧盟碳边境调节措施的合法性

Review of the Legality of EU Carbon Border Adjustment Measures in the Context of the WTO Rules

欧盟在2021年7月公布了碳边境调节措施立法建议,计划《碳边境调节措施条例》自2023年生效,并自2026年开始正式对进口到欧盟的钢铁、铝、水泥、化肥和电力实施碳边境调节措施。欧盟拟议的碳边境调节措施可能违反了WTO第2条关于对进口产品征税的规定,也与非歧视待遇原则不符。欧盟要求进口产品以欧盟碳排放权交易市场上的碳价为参照购买碳边境调整证书的方式,没有考虑各出口国本地减排温室气体的成本可能明显低于欧盟,使外国产品相比于欧盟的相同产品,在计算为减排而应付出的经济负担时,处于不利的地位,违反了国民待遇原则。并且这种实施碳边境调节措施的方式,构成对进口产品武断的和不正当的歧视,不能通过GATT第20条前言的检验。我国可以通过在WTO内挑战欧盟的碳边境调节措施,迫使欧盟放弃实施碳边境调整;或者通过谈判要求欧盟修正不公平的规则,同时承认中国的减排温室气体措施的效果,豁免中国出口欧盟的产品适用碳边境调整。

EU released its proposal on carbon border adjustment mechanism(CBAM)in July 2021.The CBAM will enter into force in 2023,coving steals,aluminum,cement,fertilizer and electricity.EU CBAM might have violated Art.II of WTO about tariff and internal tax on imported products.CBAM is also inconsistent with the rules of non-discrimination.The EU CBAM requires that importers have to buy CBAM certificate based on the carbon price of EU emission trading system without taking into consideration of the low cost of mitigating carbon in exporting states.This calculation which makes the imported products bear inferior economic burden compared with the like products of EU breaches the rule of national treatment.Moreover,the manner of implementing CBAM constitutes arbitrary and unjustifiable discrimination,therefore will not survive the inspection of the chapeaux of Art.XX.We may challenge EU CBAM within WTO and oblige EU to give up the implementation of CBAM.Or we can advise EU to revise the unfair rules in CBAM by negotiating with EU in order to have the mitigation measures of China be recognized as equivalent to EU ETS.So Chinese products exported to EU would be exempted from applying carbon border adjustment.