Serbian cement producers face two distinct trade conditions in 2026: domestic import restrictions designed to protect the local market and the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which makes verified emissions performance increasingly important for exports to the EU.
Serbia has extended tariff quotas covering Portland cement and selected steel products until the end of 2026. Under the original allocation, approximately 250,350 tonnes were assigned to cement. Imports exceeding the quota may face an additional 50% duty, on top of standard customs treatment.
Different rules at each border
The EU’s CBAM creates a different challenge for cement exporters. Cement is a complex CBAM product because clinker, a key input in cement production, is itself a CBAM precursor. Both direct and indirect emissions are relevant, meaning that fuel consumption, process emissions, electricity use and clinker content can all affect a product’s reported embedded emissions.
This creates a two-border equation for Serbian producers. Domestic quotas can help stabilise prices and protect local production capacity from import surges. In the EU market, competitiveness increasingly depends on demonstrating emissions intensity below the applicable default values and providing evidence that meets verification requirements.
Investments in alternative fuels, energy efficiency, lower clinker ratios and renewable electricity may reduce operating costs and corporate emissions. However, their value in EU trade also depends on whether the resulting emissions data can be documented within the prescribed CBAM production boundary.
Verification and financing implications
The Commission’s latest guidance places additional emphasis on precursor data. When clinker is sourced from another installation, the use of actual emissions values requires a verification report that the cement verifier can rely on. Without sufficient supporting evidence, the producer may have to use default values.
The distinction also matters for financing decisions. Lenders assessing Serbian cement producers need to evaluate domestic market protection separately from exposure to EU export costs. Import quotas may support margins in Serbia, while CBAM can affect export returns and the commercial value of investments in lower-carbon production.
Serbia’s cement industry is therefore facing two different measures of competitiveness: protection against imports in its domestic market and verifiable carbon performance when selling into the European Union.
