CEMBUREAU supports the implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as a key instrument both to level the playing field between EU and non-EU suppliers and to decarbonise the cement industry. The EU cement sector is confronted with an exponential rise of imports from non-EU countries1 and in this respect, the timely implementation of a fully watertight CBAM is critical.
The development of CBAM’s secondary legislation is particularly important for the smooth operation of CBAM as of 2026 and CEMBUREAU looks forward to contributing to the Commission’s work in the coming years.
The present paper focuses specifically on the risks of fraud in the cement sector, which, in CEMBUREAU’s view, could be minimised through different measures to be taken ahead of the start of CBAM’s operational phase in 2026.
The present paper focuses specifically on the risks of fraud in the cement sector, which, in CEMBUREAU’s view, could be minimised through different measures to be taken ahead of the start of CBAM’s operational phase in 2026.
A key risk of fraud in the cement sector relates to misstatements or false declaration of cлinker-tocement ratios in cement products.
This issue is particularly important as clinker represents a significant part of CO2 emissions from cement production. Therefore, the quantities of clinker ‘declared’ in each ton of cement will have a major impact on the amount of CBAM certificates to be surrendered by importers.
In short, clinker is the backbone of cement, and the quantities of clinker contained in cement drives the structural strength of concrete, cement’s end product. EU cement standards (as defined in EN 197) are themselves articulated around the clinker content of cements as follows:
- CEM I Portland cement (>95% clinker)
- CEM II Portland-composite cement (50-94% clinker)
- CEM III Blastfurnace cement (5-64% clinker)
- CEM IV Pozzolanic cement (45-89% clinker)
- CEM V Composite cement (20-64% clinker)
- CEM VI Composite cement (35-49% clinker)
Such differentiation allows the construction sector to opt for the best cement type depending on the construction requirements. Typically, cement types with higher clinker content will be used in heavy infrastructure projects, as well as precast concrete, whilst lower-clinker cements will be used in other lighter applications, such as non-structural walls.
When it comes to CO2 emissions, cements with a higher clinker content have significantly higher emissions than low-clinker cements. For instance, it is common to see CEM I cements with emissions as high as 800-900 kg/CO2 per tonne of cement, whilst low-clinker cements such as CEM III may go as low as 200 kg/CO2 per tonne.
There is, therefore, a significant risk of fraud which would consist in declaring (willingly or not from the side of the CBAM declarant, who could also be misled by third country installations) as a low-carbon cement a product which is actually CO2 -intensive. This risk is significant as usually, several cement types with different clinker content are produced in one cement installation: it is therefore very possible that an accredited verifier would check ‘in good faith’ the embedded CO2 in a given plant’s CEM III cement, but that the plant would export to the EU a CEM I cement instead.
As it is impossible to visually distinguish cement types, CEMBUREAU believes such risk of fraud as being particularly high. Furthermore, imported CEM I can be processed further in cement grinding stations, so that the product sold ultimately in the EU does not necessarily have to be exactly the same than the imported cement product. This opens an additional window to hide systematic fraud.
Given the size of the cement shipments originating from non-EU countries, the above-mentioned risks of fraud would amount to several million Euros per shipload.
- First mitigation measure: reviewing the EU TARIC codes to distinguish between cement types
The current structure of the 8-digit Combined Nomenclature (CN) for cement and clinker (which are included in CBAM) classifies the different cement goods into five categories:
| CN Code | Description |
| 25231000 | Cement clinkers |
| 25232100 | White portland cement, whether or not artificially coloured |
| 25232900 | Portland cement (excl. white, whether or not artificially coloured) |
| 25233000 | Aluminous cement |
| 25239000 | Other hydraulic cements |
However, the implicit carbon footprint in the different products that fall into each of the five CN categories can differ significantly depending on the actual product being imported.
As mentioned above, the clinker to cement ratio may greatly vary, in accordance with the existing cement standards, ranging from a minimum proportion of 5% for CEM III/C cement to 100% for CEM I cements. Consequently, embedded CO2 emissions can vary significantly depending on the type of cement being imported.
Furthermore, in the case of clinker (25231000), imports may correspond to white clinker, grey clinker or aluminous clinker. White clinker (due to its technical characteristics) has much higher embedded CO2 emissions (about 30% more) than grey clinker, while aluminous clinker has embedded emissions usually 5% higher than those of grey clinker.
Our proposal is to adapt the EU 10-digit Integrated Tariff (TARIC) codes, so that the identification of goods imported under heading 2523 allows an adequate refined categorisation and assessment of the approximate embedded CO2 emissions. This information would therefore be provided by the customs authorities to the national Competent Authorities and the European Commission, to allow for adequate monitoring regarding the emissions reported by authorized declarants and/or importers in their CBAM reports.
In further details, we suggest the following adaptations:
25231000 – Cement clinkers
Any clinker import, whether white, grey or aluminous, should appear under this heading, and there should be an additional code identifying the type of clinker imported. As an example, the additional code could be:
| Additional code | Clinker Type |
| A | Aluminous clinker |
| B | White clinker |
| G | Grey clinker |
25232100 – White portland cement, whether or not artificially coloured
This heading should include any type of imported white cement, whether CEM I, CEM II, CEM III, etc. Under no circumstances white/grey clinker import should be entered under this heading. An additional code identifying the type of white cement and another additional code identifying, in 10 percentage point increments the clinker/cement ratio of the imported product, should be included. As an example, the additional codes could be structured by two code digits as follows:
| Additional Cement Type Code, 1st digit | |
| Additional code | Type of cement |
| 1 | Cement type CEM I |
| 2 | Cement type CEM II |
| 3 | Cement type CEM III |
| 4 | Cement type CEM IV |
| 5 | Cement type CEM V |
| 6 | Cement type CEM VI |
| Additional code for clinker/cement ratio, 2nd digit | |
| Additional code | Clinker/cement ratio |
| 0 | Between 1% and 9% |
| 1 | Between 10% and 19% |
| 2 | Between 20% and 29% |
| 3 | Between 30% and 39% |
| 4 | Between 40% and 49% |
| 5 | Between 50% and 59% |
| 6 | Between 60% and 69% |
| 7 | Between 70% and 79% |
| 8 | Between 80% and 89% |
| 9 | Between 90% and 100% |
25232900 – Portland cement (excl. white, whether or not artificially coloured)
Imports of CEM I and CEM II grey cements, which are referred to as Portland cements in the standard table, should be reported under this heading. Under no circumstances, white cement imports should be entered under this heading, even if they may be CEM I and CEM II, nor imports of clinker.
| Additional Cement Type Code, 1st digit | |
| Additional code | Type of cement |
| 1 | Cement type CEM I |
| 2 | Cement type CEM II |
As in the case of heading 25232100, an additional code should be included identifying the type of cement and another identifying the clinker/cement ratio of the imported product in 10 percentage point increments, in the latter case the table indicated for heading 25232100 should be taken as a reference.
25233000 – Aluminous cements
Imports of so-called aluminous cements should be reported under this heading. Under no circumstances clinker imports should be entered under this heading, even if it corresponds to aluminous clinker. As in the case of heading 25232100, an additional code should be included identifying the clinker/cement ratio of the imported product in 10 percentage point increments, using the table for heading 25232100 as a reference.
25239000 – Other hydraulic cements
Imports of grey cements CEM III, CEM IV, CEM V and CEM VI should be reported under this heading, which are referred to in the standard table as blast furnace cements, pozzolanic cements and composite cements. Under no circumstances white cement imports should be recorded under this heading, even if they may be CEM III, CEM IV, CEM V or CEM VI, or imports of clinker. As in the case of heading 25232100, an additional code should be included identifying the type of cement and another identifying the clinker/cement ratio of the imported product in 10 percentage point increments, in the latter case the table indicated for heading 25232100 should be taken as a reference.
| Additional Cement Type Code, 1st digit | |
| Additional code | Type of cement |
| 3 | Cement type CEM III |
| 4 | Cement type CEM IV |
| 5 | Cement type CEM V |
| 6 | Cement type CEM VI |
As in the case of heading 25232100, an additional code should be included identifying the type of cement and another identifying the clinker/cement ratio of the imported product in 10 percentage point increments, in the latter case the table indicated for heading 25232100 should be taken as a reference.
A full summary table containing the additional codes to be considered in the TARIC, in order to properly identify goods imported under heading 2523 of the CN and their approximate embedded CO2 , is provided in the annex of this position paper.
- Second mitigation measure: mandatory sampling of cements imported under CBAM
As mentioned previously, and even with the above-mentioned TARIC review in place, a check of the embedded CO2 emissions will not be possible from a visual inspection of the cements. However, a sample analysis of at least the most relevant parameter, i.e. the composition of the cement and in particular its clinker content, will allow to check the correct attribution of the CBAM reports and the plausibility and accuracy of the stated embedded emissions. Therefore, avoiding fraud by wrong attribution between a provided embedded CO2 statement and the physically imported product requires the establishment of regular procedures for checking through sampling and analysis of the imported product. Analysing procedures shall be performed by accredited laboratories in the respective member states. Wrong attributions and misstatements with significant economic relevance can only be identified with such analysis.
In CEMBUREAU’s view, the Implementing Act for the transition period2 lacks provision requesting the declarant to report additional information from sampling of the imported good at the entry to the EU. Conversely, requiring a sample of the imported product from the CBAM declarant as measure for fraud prevention, or systematically sampling products at custom points, would largely mitigate any risk of fraud.
All the more, sampling procedures are well established according to existing standards and can be contracted and performed by accredited organisations in the EU as follows:
Sampling
Sampling should be carried out according to EN 196-73. Sampling of bulk or packed cement from large delivery units like ships and trains is explicitly covered by this standard. Details for taking a representative sample from the specific bulk, splitting of subsamples, dispatch of laboratory samples and storage of retain samples should be defined in a sampling plan, and must be documented in a sampling report (clause 10 of EN 196-7).
Analysis
The determination of the clinker content in cement should be carried out according to CEN/TR 196- 44 by an accredited laboratory. When performing the selective dissolution steps described (reference method), reproducibility standard deviations of 2 to 4 % are obtained for such analyses, depending on the cement composition (number and type of cement main constituents). Alternative analytical methods (e.g. quantitative X-ray diffraction) may be used if the method is accredited and sufficient precision is proven by the laboratory.
We therefore strongly recommend that, as of the start of the operational date, a sample analysis on imported cements is performed at the entry point into the EU.
Annex 1 – Summary of proposed changes to TARIC code
| TARIC Code | Imported product | Additional clinker/cement type code 1st digit |
Additional code for clinker/cement ratio 2nd digit |
||
| Code |
Description |
Code | Description | ||
| 25231000 | Clinker | A | Aluminous clinker | ||
| B | White clinker | ||||
| G | Grey clinker | ||||
| 25232100 | White Portland Cements | 1 | CEM I | 0 | Between 1% and 9% |
| 2 | CEM II | 1 | Between 10% and 19% | ||
| 3 | CEM III | 2 | Between 20% and 29% | ||
| 4 | CEM IV | 3 | Between 30% and 39% | ||
| 5 | CEM V | 4 | Between 40% and 49% | ||
| 6 | CEM VI | 5 | Between 50% and 59% | ||
| 6 | Between 60% and 69% | ||||
| 7 | Between 70% and 79% | ||||
| 8 | Between 80% and 89% | ||||
| 9 | Between 90% and 100% | ||||
| 25232900 | Portland cements, others: this code shall include type CEM I and CEM II cements |
1 | CEM I | 0 | Between 1% and 9% |
| 2 | CEM II | 1 | Between 10% and 19% | ||
| 2 | Between 20% and 29% | ||||
| 3 | Between 30% and 39% | ||||
| 4 | Between 40% and 49% | ||||
| 5 | Between 50% and 59% | ||||
| 6 | Between 60% and 69% | ||||
| 7 | Between 70% and 79% | ||||
| 8 | Between 80% and 89% | ||||
| 9 | Between 90% and 100% | ||||
| 25233000 | Aluminous cements | 0 | Between 1% and 9% | ||
| 1 | Between 10% and 19% | ||||
| 2 | Between 20% and 29% | ||||
| 3 | Between 30% and 39% | ||||
| 4 | Between 40% and 49% | ||||
| 5 | Between 50% and 59% | ||||
| 6 | Between 60% and 69% | ||||
| 7 | Between 70% and 79% | ||||
| 8 | Between 80% and 89% | ||||
| 9 | Between 90% and 100% | ||||
| 25239000 | Other hydraulic cements: this code covers type CEM III, CEM IV, CEM V and CEM VI |
3 | CEM III | 0 | Between 1% and 9% |
| 4 | CEM IV | 1 | Between 10% and 19% | ||
| 5 | CEM V | 2 | Between 20% and 29% | ||
| 6 | CEM VI | 3 | Between 30% and 39% | ||
| 4 | Between 40% and 49% | ||||
| 5 | Between 50% and 59% | ||||
| 6 | Between 60% and 69% | ||||
| 7 | Between 70% and 79% | ||||
| 8 | Between 80% and 89% | ||||
| 9 | Between 90% and 100% | ||||
- Please see EU cement trade industry statistics – 2022, CEMBUREAU, 2023
- Commission Regulation 2023/1773 laying down the rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards reporting obligations for the purposes of the carbon border adjustment mechanism during the transitional period
- EN 196-7: 2007 Methods of testing cement – Part 7: Methods of sampling and sample preparation
- CEN/TR 196-4: 2007 Methods of testing cement –Part 4: Quantitative determination of constituents