The EU Commission is ignoring the problems of the home appliance industry, says Lars Schubert. In the Table.Briefings interview, the COO of home appliance manufacturer BSH said that the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ( CBAM ) in particular is causing problems for the industry. The industry makes its products in Europe but imports some of the raw materials and therefore pays the carbon border tax. “Market participants who import finished home appliances manufactured abroad and have no production site in Germany or Europe do not have to pay the border tax, because only the raw materials are subject to CBAM, and the finished product is duty-free.” This is a major problem, but it is being ignored by the European Commission, says Schubert.
However, the European home appliance industry does not want to abolish the CBAM. “We want to act sustainably, and certain regulations do stimulate innovation.” Instead, Schubert urges that the CBAM be expanded to cover additional downstream products, so that not only steel imports but also finished washing machines are subject to the CBAM. “There should be no difference between imports and European production.”
The industry employs more than one million people in Europe. However, Schubert, who is also a member of the steering committee of the European home appliance umbrella organization APPLiA, believes the EU underestimates the industry because it has been around for a long time. “It is not an emerging new category – rather, it is established practice.” He urges the Commission to talk with the industry about competition-related issues and to jointly develop an EU action plan for the home appliance industry. Lukas Knigge
Read the full interview here.