# Five EU Countries Want an Export Discount to Ease Carbon Costs on Industry

> Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland are pushing Brussels to soften the EU's emissions trading rules for steel, cement and chemicals makers, warning that without more flexibility, production will simply move outside Europe.

- Source: Belgium Crown
- Canonical URL: https://belgiumcrown.com/article/five-eu-countries-want-an-export-discount-to-ease-carbon-costs-on-industry
- Author: Belgium Crown Staff
- Section: Europe
- Published: 2026-09-27T21:20:35.194Z
- Updated: 2026-09-27T21:20:35.194Z
- Tags: emissions trading, carbon costs, industry, steel, European Commission

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Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland are pushing the European Commission to soften the EU's emissions trading system, arguing that heavy industry needs more room to cut emissions without losing ground to competitors outside the bloc.

The five countries want what they are calling an export discount, a mechanism that would ease the carbon cost burden on goods sold outside the EU, and argue that governments should hold off on mandating further decarbonisation investment until the groundwork is actually in place, meaning affordable electricity, sufficient grid capacity, hydrogen infrastructure and systems to transport and store captured CO2. Austrian Industry and Energy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer put the concern bluntly, saying the bloc needs something like an export discount because European industry runs into a huge problem the moment it tries to do business outside Europe.

## Steel, cement and chemicals in the crosshairs

The push centres on steel, cement and chemicals producers, sectors that face some of the highest exposure to carbon pricing and the stiffest competition from manufacturers outside the EU. Eurofer, the steel industry's trade body, has warned that pulling back carbon leakage protections too quickly risks undermining the very investments the transition depends on.

The EU's emissions trading system has cut emissions in covered sectors by more than half since 2005 while generating 270 billion euros in revenue, a record that supporters point to as proof the scheme works. But how far to bend the rules for industry remains one of the more divisive questions among member states as the Commission weighs its next revision.

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Originally published by Belgium Crown. Free to cite with attribution and a link to https://belgiumcrown.com/article/five-eu-countries-want-an-export-discount-to-ease-carbon-costs-on-industry.