Chapter 10 focuses on the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), introducing carbon pricing on imported products from certain sectors, in an attempt to address carbon leakage and, intentionally or not, ensuring a level playing field between domestic and imported products. The chapter presents the mechanism, its aims, and its consistency with EU’s international environmental and trade commitments. Accordingly, the chapter analyses the question of CBAM’s compatibility with the international principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) as it treats developing and least developed countries on an equal footing with the developed ones. Then it considers the question of the mechanism’s compliance with WTO rules, in particular WTO non-discrimination rules and prohibition on quantitative restrictions. It pays special attention to potential justifications of possible breaches and whether they could accommodate also a CBAM in line with the CBDR principle, thereby addressing the convoluted question of the relationship between international trade and climate regimes.

Chapter 11 brings together the insights gained in the analyses of the book and thus puts the EU’s recent turn towards a more assertive trade policy into broader perspective. It presents the results of the appraisal of the linkage between EU’s international and constitutional obligations. It also summarizes for the readers the key results from the book chapters and provides final answers to the research question. Thus, the chapter lists the instances in which the analysed instruments could conflict with EU’s international commitments and makes suggestions that would improve their chances of compliance, but it also mentions and praises the instruments that contribute to the credibility of the EU as an actor committed to international rule of law and multialteralism. Finally, this chapter describes potential further challenges of the EU trade policy change and its prospective application, which could also turn into opportunities and should be closely watched by the readers in the future, such as the evolution of new multilateral rules, the new complexity related to signing bilateral agreements, or issues related to the balance of powers among EU institutions.

Governments may impose a carbon emission charge to address environmental externalities. If implemented, this will drive up the cost of energy-intensive production. To level the playing field, domestic carbon pricing can be extended to carbon-embedding imports. The recent legislative movements in the EU and elsewhere show that the issue of adjusting carbon prices at the border is entering the mainstream of climate policymaking. At the same time, carbon is not the only target of energy-affecting trade control measures. Other typical examples of such measures include air quality regulations with import-restrictive impacts and the localization of clean energy production, which some States may portray as environmentally necessary. Products with health-threatening content associated with unsafe energy use can face market access barriers as well. When energy production causes ecological or public health problems at home or depletes natural resources, export restrictions are usually among candidate measures that governments consider for mitigating such adverse effects. Therefore, it is imperative to examine trade rules and case law to check the legality of these energy–environment measures.