Free Trade in the Age of Climate Change - The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism from an EU and WTO Legal Perspective
(2024) HARN63 20241Department of Business Law
- Abstract
- This thesis addresses the European Union (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by analysing whether recourse to Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is a sufficient legal basis for the instrument, as well as how the mechanism relates to Articles I, II, III, and XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in terms of possibilities for compliance. The purpose is to position the CBAM in the context of EU and World Trade Organization (WTO) law and to examine the nature of the CBAM in the light of criticisms of discrimination and protectionism that has been levelled against the EU in the context of the implementation of the instrument.
The analysis is carried out by reviewing the... (More) - This thesis addresses the European Union (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by analysing whether recourse to Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is a sufficient legal basis for the instrument, as well as how the mechanism relates to Articles I, II, III, and XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in terms of possibilities for compliance. The purpose is to position the CBAM in the context of EU and World Trade Organization (WTO) law and to examine the nature of the CBAM in the light of criticisms of discrimination and protectionism that has been levelled against the EU in the context of the implementation of the instrument.
The analysis is carried out by reviewing the Treaty and Agreement Articles, discussing relevant rulings and reports by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the WTO Appellate Body, as well as referencing doctrine.
Based on an initial discussion, it appears that, in addition to 192(1), Articles 114 and 207 of the TFEU might be relevant for the CBAM in terms of the appropriate legal basis. The analysis indicates that while recourse to Article 207 would be difficult to justify, it is less clear that it would not be appropriate to use Article 114 in addition to 192(1). In terms of the GATT Articles, the analysis shows that there are several ambiguities and unclarities resulting from a lack of definition within a WTO context as well as the fact that the relation of the CBAM to the GATT largely depends on how the instrument will be implemented. If nothing else, the findings demonstrate that the relationship between trade and environmental measures is perhaps more relevant than ever. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9158327
- author
- Holm, Anna LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- HARN63 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- CBAM, TFEU, legal basis, GATT, border adjustment, non-discrimination, Article XX
- language
- English
- id
- 9158327
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-10 10:52:20
- date last changed
- 2024-06-10 10:52:20
@misc{9158327,
abstract = {{This thesis addresses the European Union (EU) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by analysing whether recourse to Article 192(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is a sufficient legal basis for the instrument, as well as how the mechanism relates to Articles I, II, III, and XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in terms of possibilities for compliance. The purpose is to position the CBAM in the context of EU and World Trade Organization (WTO) law and to examine the nature of the CBAM in the light of criticisms of discrimination and protectionism that has been levelled against the EU in the context of the implementation of the instrument.
The analysis is carried out by reviewing the Treaty and Agreement Articles, discussing relevant rulings and reports by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the WTO Appellate Body, as well as referencing doctrine.
Based on an initial discussion, it appears that, in addition to 192(1), Articles 114 and 207 of the TFEU might be relevant for the CBAM in terms of the appropriate legal basis. The analysis indicates that while recourse to Article 207 would be difficult to justify, it is less clear that it would not be appropriate to use Article 114 in addition to 192(1). In terms of the GATT Articles, the analysis shows that there are several ambiguities and unclarities resulting from a lack of definition within a WTO context as well as the fact that the relation of the CBAM to the GATT largely depends on how the instrument will be implemented. If nothing else, the findings demonstrate that the relationship between trade and environmental measures is perhaps more relevant than ever.}},
author = {{Holm, Anna}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Free Trade in the Age of Climate Change - The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism from an EU and WTO Legal Perspective}},
year = {{2024}},
}