What are the UK CBAM default values for bright steel bars?
For bright bars, the UK CBAM default turns on steel type and finishing. Cold-finished free-cutting bars (7215 10 00) are 2.826 tCO2e per tonne, other cold-finished bars with 0.25% carbon or more (7215 50 80) 2.694, and bars cold or hot formed and then further worked (7215 90 00) 4.211.
Defaults under 7215
- 7215 10 00: free-cutting steel bars, not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished: 2.826 tCO2e per tonne.
- 7215 50 11: other cold-finished bars, under 0.25% carbon, rectangular section: 3.443.
- 7215 50 19: the same, square or other section: 2.864.
- 7215 50 80: other cold-finished bars, 0.25% carbon or more: 2.694.
- 7215 90 00: bars cold or hot formed and further worked: 4.211.
Further working adds 1.517 per tonne
A cold-drawn bar that is further worked can move from 2.694 to 4.211. Ask your UK buyer how the bars are classified once they are peeled, ground, plated or cut to length, and confirm the code on the UK Trade Tariff.
The hot-rolled bar is the precursor
Most of an actual figure comes from the black bar you buy. If the rolling mill gives you a verified figure, use it; otherwise the bar goes in at its own default and your drawing, annealing and straightening use actual data.
A Ludhiana order for a UK fastener maker
- 45 t EN1A free-cutting bright bar, 7215 10 00: 45 x 2.826 = 127.170 tCO2e.
- 15 t EN8 cold-drawn bar, about 0.4% carbon, 7215 50 80: 15 x 2.694 = 40.410 tCO2e.
- Total on defaults: 167.580 tCO2e.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads black bar invoices with annealing furnace fuel and dispatch tonnes by grade, so your bright bar figure can be set against 2.826 or 2.694. We build the figure from your records and check every figure in-house; for the UK it must then be verified by a verifier accredited for UK CBAM. Have your own verifier? Send it to them.
Sources: HMRC, UK CBAM iron and steel default values (published 16 October 2026), HM Treasury and HMRC, UK CBAM policy summary
Last reviewed 2026-11-03.