All CBAM CN codes
CN 7605Covered by CBAMAluminium

CN 7605 under CBAM — Aluminium Wire

Aluminium wire

Aluminium wire — including the EC-grade wire and alloy wire drawn from wire rod for electrical, mechanical and cable applications. Indian producers, often integrated with the primary smelters’ wire-rod mills, export to EU cable makers and industrial users. (Insulated cable is classified elsewhere; bare wire sits here.)

Covered
CBAM status of this heading
1 Jan 2026
Definitive phase — certificates due
€70–80
per tCO₂ — certificate price tracks EU ETS
up to ~40%
typical cost cut with verified actuals
Emission profile

Where the emissions in CN 7605 come from

Wire drawing adds little; the wire rod — cast at a smelter’s rod mill — is the precursor carrying the smelting emissions, which in India span coal-power metal at 14–18 tCO₂/t down to hydro at 4–7 tCO₂/t. The EU default value for this heading is deliberately conservative; wire from a hydro-powered or high-scrap chain has a dramatically better real number available through verified actuals.

Why we don’t print a default value here

The EU publishes and updates specific default values per goods category separately — quoting a stale number would mislead you. What never changes: defaults are set deliberately high, and the markup escalates from 10% in 2026 to 30% by 2028 for steel and aluminium (free-allowance phase-out runs to 2034). Use the CBAM calculator for a current, product-specific estimate.

What to do

Exporting under CN 7605? Three moves, in order.

  1. 01

    Identify your production route and precursors

    Trace the rod to its smelter and power source — the precursor decides the number. Integrated producers should carry their own smelter data through; independent drawers need supplier engagement.

  2. 02

    Collect the data you already have

    Rod purchase or internal transfer records, drawing-plant electricity bills, annealing energy data, production weights by product.

  3. 03

    File verified actuals, not defaults

    Have the numbers computed to the EU CBAM methodology and verified, then hand your EU buyer’s Authorised Declarant a filing they can use. Verified actuals typically cut the CBAM cost by up to ~40% versus default values — and the default markup only gets worse, escalating from 10% in 2026 to 30% by 2028 for steel and aluminium.

Free this quarter: We cover your first report (April–June 2026) so an inflated EU default never costs you an order. Continue only if you choose to. Free for the April–June 2026 quarter — start your report by 30 September 2026.

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Frequently asked

CN 7605 and CBAM, in plain English

Is CN 7605 covered by CBAM?

Yes. CN 7605 — aluminium wire (bare, not electrically insulated) — is a covered good under the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Any consignment under this heading imported into the EU has carried reporting obligations since the transitional phase (1 October 2023 – 31 December 2025), and since the definitive phase began on 1 January 2026 the EU importer must buy CBAM certificates against its embedded emissions. EC-grade and alloy wire for EU cable and industrial buyers import under this heading.

How much CBAM cost does CN 7605 face in 2026?

CBAM certificates track the EU ETS carbon price — roughly €70–80 per tonne of CO₂ in 2026 — so the bill is your embedded emissions multiplied by that price. Aluminium’s bill is dominated by electricity: coal-powered primary metal carries several times the embedded emissions of hydro-powered or scrap-based metal, so two identical consignments can face wildly different CBAM costs. Verified actuals typically cut the cost by up to ~40% versus defaults — use our calculator for a product-specific estimate.

Our EU customer makes cable from our wire. Who carries the CBAM obligation?

The importer of your wire — your customer or their declarant — surrenders certificates when the wire crosses the EU border under CN 7605. Their finished cable is their business; your wire’s embedded emissions are the number at stake, and it comes from your chain. Cable makers compare wire suppliers on landed cost including CBAM, so a verified low number is a supply-contract advantage.

Does alloying (e.g. AlMgSi wire) change the CBAM treatment?

The heading and coverage stay the same; the calculation still runs on the metal’s embedded emissions plus your processing energy. Alloying elements are a small mass share and the methodology handles them within the standard boundary. What moves the number is, as ever, the power source behind the primary metal and the scrap share in the mix.