기후변화와 자유무역 – EU의 CBAM을 중심으로

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

From October 1, 2023, the EU began implementing CBAM. In a situation where the climate change crisis is accelerating, CBAM is an additional policy to achieve the European Green Deal goals along with the EU's ETS. The purpose of CBAM is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by imposing a carbon tax on products imported into the EU, and to prevent 'carbon leakage', which causes companies within the EU to shift production to countries with less stringent carbon emissions standards, increasing global carbon emissions. However, unlike ETS, which is a free contract method of trading carbon in the market, CBAM is a more restrictive measures for international trade through mandatory import tariffs.
The EU CBAM may violate Article I of GATT due to the possibility of differential treatment of imported goods according to the carbon pricing system of their country of origin and the fact that it is designed in a way that the industries covered by the CBAM have a greater impact on the exports of certain countries.
The increase in additional financial costs due to the purchase of CBAM certificates is a violation of the existing EU concession obligations under GATT Article II, and the change in the tariff concession schedule that increases tariff rates is also judged to be in conflict with the principle of trade liberalization. The cost of the obligation to purchase and submit a CBAM certificate imposed by the EU is a discriminatory financial burden on the importer, and the importer's obligation to submit a CBAM report and certification materials and apply for CBAM declarant approval are related to laws and regulations and their application. This may constitutes violation against GATT Article III.
Of course, such violations can be justified under GATT Article XX. Regarding the justification requirement, the satisfaction of the necessity requirement is questionable in that ‘less restrictive’ alternatives, i.e. more market-friendly measures, can be considered rather than mandating the purchase and submission of CBAM certificates. Suspicions still remain that the EU is imposing disguised protectionist trade regulations for industries covered by CBAM.
The EU did not choose to directly implement more intensive carbon emission reduction policies within the EU or to strengthen international cooperation within the existing UNFCCC system. Rather, the EU unilaterally introduced CBAM under the justification of using the purchasing power of the huge EU market as a weapon and promoting the reduction of carbon emissions in countries outside the region that export carbon-intensive products to the EU. However, in order to harmonize the CBAM of the WTO and the EU, it is necessary to institutionalize CBAM within a multilateral, free trade framework through negotiations and revision of the agreement in the WTO.

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참고문헌 (Reference)

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