Carbon tax remains intact in India-EU FTA; technical talks to address concerns: German official
New Delhi (PTI): The European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will not see any exceptions despite the concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but both sides have committed to technical discussions to find the best way forward, a senior German environment ministry official said here.
Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, emphasised that the CBAM is not targeted against any specific country but serves as a necessary protective measure once carbon pricing is introduced domestically in the EU.
"CBAM is not against anyone. Once you introduce carbon pricing, you need to have some kind of protection," Flasbarth told PTI Videos on Wednesday during his ongoing visit to India, where he held discussions with officials from the Ministries of New and Renewable Energy, Power, and Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
"With the carbon pricing, we need to do something, and that is something we want to discuss. It is written in the free trade agreement that there will be technical discussions on how to do it in the best possible way. And of course, it's very clear we will not make exceptions for any other countries in the world. We would not follow the pressure of the US, for example, or others, so India can be sure there will be no exceptions," the secretary emphasised.
The EU's CBAM, which entered its definitive financial phase in January 2026, imposes charges on embedded carbon emissions in imports of key sectors such as iron and steel, aluminium, and cement, among others. This has raised concerns in India, particularly for carbon-intensive exports like steel, which could face additional costs, potentially offsetting some tariff benefits from the FTA.
Flasbarth described the FTA as enormously important amid rising global trade barriers and a difficult geopolitical situation. He noted that while environment and climate issues are not the core of the agreement text, they remain central given the EU's commitment to climate neutrality.
"The Free Trade Agreement that was agreed...will have to be ratified soon. We also agreed to collaborate more in the field of carbon pricing and emission trading systems," Flasbarth said.
Flasbarth also stated that India and Germany will ratify a pact on critical minerals during the upcoming inter-governmental commission meeting.
"Critical minerals are extremely important for both countries. At the moment, both countries are dependent on one source, basically from China. And of course, it's in the interest of the two countries to get less dependent on one source," he said.
Sources indicate that the IGC between the two countries is likely to be held in June 2026.
VIDEO | Delhi: Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary, Germany's Federal Ministry of the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, says, "Critical minerals are extremely important for both countries... Both countries are dependent on just one source, which… pic.twitter.com/D4NcnnhUFv
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 26, 2026
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
‘Self-styled Vishwaguru stands exposed’: Cong's dig at PM over Pak role in US-Iran ceasefire
New Delhi (PTI): Taking a swipe at the government, the Congress on Wednesday said the role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire between the US and Iran is a “severe setback” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “highly personalised diplomacy” and “the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed”.
The opposition party also said Prime Minister Modi's “cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel’s belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House”.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the entire world will cautiously welcome the two-week ceasefire in the West Asia conflict between the US and Israel on the one side and Iran on the other.
“The conflict had begun on February 28th with the targeted assassinations of the topmost echelons of the regime in Iran. These had started just two days after Prime Minister Modi had completed his much-trumpeted visit to Israel, a visit that diminished India’s global stature and standing,” Ramesh claimed.
PM Modi had said nothing about Israel’s "genocide" in Gaza and its aggressively expansionist policies in the occupied West Bank, Ramesh said.
“The role played by Pakistan in bringing about the ceasefire is a severe setback to both the substance and style of Mr Modi’s highly personalised diplomacy,” he said.
The policy to isolate Pakistan for its continuing support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and to convince the world that it is a failed state has clearly not succeeded – unlike what Manmohan Singh had accomplished after the Mumbai terror attacks, Ramesh claimed.
That a bankrupt economy dependent entirely on the largesse of external donors and a broken country in so many ways was able to play such a role calls into question Modi’s strategy of engagement and narrative management, he said.
“He (Modi) or his team has also never explained why Op Sindoor was suddenly and abruptly halted on May 10th 2025 - the first announcement of which came from the US Secretary of State and for which the US President has claimed credit almost a hundred times since then,” the Congress leader said.
“There is a palpable sigh of relief everywhere. The External Affairs Minister (S Jaishankar) dismissed Pakistan as a dalal. But now the self-styled Vishwaguru stands thoroughly exposed, his self-declared 56-inch chest shrunk and shrivelled,” Ramesh said.
“His cowardice is demonstrated by his silence not only on Israel’s belligerence, but on the completely unacceptable and disgraceful language being used by his good friend in the White House,” the Congress leader added.
US President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, as the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump swerved to de-escalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate to a deal or face attacks on its bridges and power plants meant to destroy the Iranian civilisation.
Trump made the dramatic announcement on Truth Social on Tuesday evening (US time) even as Democrats called for his removal over unhinged threats to wipe out the Iranian civilisation.
"Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz," the US President said in a social media post.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Pakistan beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.
Israel backed the US ceasefire with Iran but the deal doesn't cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Wednesday.
