# CBAM for Aluminium Exporters in India: How to Keep EU Buyers

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/cbam-aluminium-exporter-india

Published 2026-10-13.

India's aluminium industry sells foil, sheet, extrusions, wire and castings to European buyers, many of them made by small and mid-sized firms that buy their metal from a handful of large smelters. Since 1 January 2026, every tonne of covered aluminium entering the EU carries a CBAM certificate cost for the importer.

The question for an Indian exporter is how to stay on the approved supplier list when the buyer's cost now depends on emissions data the exporter may not control.

## What has already happened

The shift started before the first certificate was owed. The Global Trade Research Initiative reported that India's steel and aluminium exports to the EU fell 24.4 percent, from $7.71 billion in 2023-24 to $5.82 billion in 2024-25, with aluminium down 9.8 percent. It warned that MSMEs face the heaviest burden because of compliance, data and verification costs, and estimated that exporters might need to cut prices by 15 to 22 percent to absorb the charge.

India has asked the EU for MSME exemptions and for mutual recognition of its own carbon market; the EU has said CBAM is not negotiable.

## The MSME data problem

An extruder or foil roller's embedded emissions are mostly the emissions of the primary metal it bought. GTRI noted that large producers often do not share verified emissions data with MSME buyers. Without it, the EU importer falls back on default values, which carry a mark-up of 10 percent in 2026, 20 percent in 2027 and 30 percent from 2028.

That makes the first job contractual, not technical:

1. **Ask your metal supplier for installation-level emissions** per tonne of ingot or billet, with the reporting period and verifier.
2. **Record your own process emissions:** furnace fuel and electricity per tonne of product.
3. **Track recycled content** with purchase records; secondary aluminium carries far lower emissions than primary.

## Where green finance helps

The projects that lower embedded emissions are the ones lenders understand: remelting lines for scrap, furnace efficiency, and rooftop or open-access solar for rolling and extrusion loads. For the Indian loan process, read [how to get green loans using carbon data](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/how-to-get-green-loans-india-carbon-data).

## What is coming

The EU has proposed adding about 180 more steel- and aluminium-intensive downstream products to CBAM from 1 January 2028. Exporters of finished aluminium parts that are outside CBAM today should expect the same questions soon.

Work out the cost for your products with the [CBAM calculator](https://senseible.earth/cbam-calculator) and see the [aluminium sector page](https://senseible.earth/cbam-cost/aluminium). For the steel side, read [the CBAM cost guide for Indian steel exporters](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/cbam-compliance-cost-indian-steel-exporters-2026-2034).

This is general guidance, not legal advice.

## Related guides

- [India's carbon market and the EU carbon price](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/trading-air-for-assets-india-carbon-markets-eu-price)
- [CBAM for Indian chemicals and fertilisers](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/india-chemical-industry-cbam-exposure-analysis)
- [lowering CBAM costs for importers in Germany](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/lower-cbam-costs-importer-germany)
- [CBAM cost for aluminium extruders in Turkey](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/cbam-cost-aluminium-extrusion-turkey)