The European Emissions Trading System (ETS) is under significant pressure from member states due to sharply rising energy costs driven by the tightening supply of certificates, with prices tripling from around €25/t CO2 in 2019 to approximately €75/t in 2025. With the ETS scheduled for a major revision by July 2026, several EU countries led by Italy recently called for the review process to be suspended. Last week, Polish President Karol Nawrocki went a step further, urging his government to advocate for the complete abolition of the ETS to prevent further industrial relocation outside the EU. Industry experts note that any modification, suspension, or national exemption of the ETS would have immediate and direct consequences for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

“Gold’s status as a haven may now be tarnished in the eyes of some as the precious metal is falling in price even as war roils the Middle East and financial markets alike, and some may even be tempted to say that the third major bull run in the commodity since 1971 is now over,” says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

[SMM Titanium Express] Sovereign Metals signed an MOU with Mitsui & Co. for the sale of natural rutile from its Kasiya Project in Malawi. The initial four-year supply period contemplates up to 70,000 tpa of rutile concentrate with TiO₂ >95%. Japan is the world's second-largest titanium metal producer, supplying over 70% of U.S. titanium sponge imports. The cooperation aligns with recent U.S.-EU-Japan critical minerals supply chain initiatives, highlighting rutile's strategic value as feedstock for high-end titanium applications.

It is worth noting that the overall overseas ternary cathode demand outlook for 2026 remains subdued. The U.S. market has been sluggish since the fourth quarter of last year, prompting many overseas manufacturers to place their hopes on the European market.

Digital Product Passports (DPP) introduced by the EU as part of regulatory of promoting sustainability, with batteries being the first products to be implemented. Battery passport collects data of lifecycle, durability, performance, and composition. These information helps manufacturing and end-of-life processes more circular, while enable consumers in making informed choices. The following batteries placed on or put into service in the EU market will be required for battery passport, starting from February 2027: Electric vehicle (EV) batteries; Light means of transport (LMT) batteries, such as e-bikes and e-scooters; Industrial batteries with a capacity above 2 kWh, such as those used in industrial activities, or energy storage.

The General Court of the European Union has annulled a European Commission regulation that extended a 17.3% anti-dumping duty on Indonesian hot-rolled stainless steel sheets and coils to imports consigned from Turkey. The ruling followed a legal challenge by Turkish steel producer Çolakoğlu Metalurji. The Court determined that the Commission made an error of law by incorrectly classifying the Turkish producer's processing activities as an "assembly operation" under EU circumvention criteria, thereby invalidating the extended duties for the applicant company.

According to EFDA, the CBAM is severely penalizing importers of screws, nuts, and other fasteners, with costs reportedly surging by 30% to 50% since the mechanism took full effect in January 2026. The EFDA attributes this drastic cost increase to structural failures by the European Commission, specifically the absence of a functioning verification system that forces importers to rely on exorbitantly high default emissions values rather than actual data. This issue is heavily compounded by a severe shortage of certified verifiers, whose accreditation is delayed until summer 2027. Warning that these bureaucratic complexities are threatening the global competitiveness of European end products like automobiles and machinery.

European solar auctions and corporate PPAs added 92 GW of new capacity between 2022 and 2025, according to SolarPower Europe. After earlier struggles, auction-driven deployment rebounded to a record 25.2 GW in 2025, a 23% year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, corporate PPAs saw mixed results across the continent—dropping 56% in Germany but remaining strong in Spain, Italy, and Poland. Despite utility-scale growth, total EU solar installations in 2025 experienced a slight 0.7% decline to 65.1 GW. This marks the first annual drop since 2016, driven primarily by softened residential demand. With total capacity now at 406 GW, industry reports warn that reaching the bloc's 750 GW target by 2030 will require renewed policy support to address 'persistent inefficiencies' in auction designs.

【SMM Steel】The EC confirmed CBAM certificate price release dates for 2026. Q1 prices will be out on Apr 7, with quarterly prices following. Importers must purchase certificates from Feb 2027 for 2026 imports. Prices will be based on EU ETS auction averages. Tenders for the Common Central Platform (handling sales & repurchases) closed on Mar 20, 2026. Prices will be published on the EC's CBAM webpage and registry.

The US is expected to launch two new trade investigations into the “surplus industrial capacity” of 16 major trading partners, including China. According to officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the move could trigger new tariff measures. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun pointed out that the so-called “overcapacity” is utterly groundless, and that China firmly opposes using this as a pretext for political manipulation. Meanwhile, the European Commission also made its position clear: if the US takes actions that violate trade agreements, the EU will “respond firmly.”