# What are the UK CBAM default values for hot and cold rolled steel?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-hot-cold-rolled-coil-default

It depends on thickness and finish. HMRC's UK CBAM default for hot-rolled non-alloy coil under 3 mm, not pickled (7208 39 00), is 3.468 tCO2e per tonne, and 2.649 if pickled (7208 27 00). Cold-rolled coil over 1 mm to under 3 mm (7209 16 90) is 2.806, and plate over 15 mm (7208 51 20) 2.941.

## Defaults for flat-rolled steel

- 7208 39 00: hot-rolled coil under 3 mm, not pickled: 3.468 tCO2e per tonne.
- 7208 38 00: hot-rolled coil 3 mm to under 4.75 mm, not pickled: 3.778.
- 7208 27 00: hot-rolled coil under 3 mm, pickled: 2.649.
- 7208 10 00: hot-rolled coil with patterns in relief (chequered): 2.722.
- 7208 51 20: plate over 15 mm thick, not in coils: 2.941.
- 7209 16 90: cold-rolled coil over 1 mm to under 3 mm: 2.806.
- 7209 17 90: cold-rolled coil 0.5 mm to 1 mm: 2.648.

## Thickness and pickling change the code

The same hot-rolled grade can sit under four codes depending on thickness and whether it was pickled, with defaults from 2.649 to 3.778. Electrical cold-rolled sheet has codes of its own, such as 7209 16 10 at 2.358. Read thickness and finish off the mill certificate before picking a default; galvanised and coated sheet is under 7210.

## Origin rule for re-rollers

The UK charges CBAM on goods originating outside the UK under non-preferential rules of origin. A cold-rolled coil made in India from imported hot-rolled coil still needs the hot-rolled coil's embodied emissions as a precursor.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads slab or coil purchases, reheating fuel and dispatch tonnes by product, so your own HR or CR figure can be set against these defaults. 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.

- [Cold-rolled coil embedded emissions](https://senseible.earth/answers/cold-rolled-coil-cbam-embedded-emissions)
- [CBAM steel India](https://senseible.earth/solutions/cbam-steel-india)

Sources: [HMRC, UK CBAM iron and steel default values (published 16 October 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/check-the-default-values-for-the-carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-cbam/iron-and-steel-default-values), [HMRC, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): Policy summary (updated 2 November 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-cbam-policy-summary/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-cbam-policy-summary)

Last reviewed 2026-11-02.