Imports of Serbian iron and steel into the European Union (EU) were worth about €567 million in 2025, while aluminium imports reached about €448 million. Customs data generally do not identify the factories that consumed the metal or the companies that ultimately bear Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) costs. The figures show substantial trade with the bloc but do not prove direct supplies to named manufacturers.
Poland, Czechia and Hungary were the leading EU markets for Serbian iron and steel under HS72, according to European customs data. Germany, Slovenia and France led direct imports of Serbian aluminium products and articles under HS76. These country and product totals can help identify trade routes for CBAM screening, but they do not show where the material was ultimately used.
A shipment recorded as entering through Poland, for example, could later be used in a German vehicle, a Czech machine tool or a Hungarian industrial building. European industrial demand can support Serbian exports even when customs records show no direct transaction between a Serbian mill and the final equipment maker.
Processing can obscure the metal’s final destination
The supply chain typically involves four separate actors: a Serbian producer, an EU importer or indirect customs representative, a European processor and a final manufacturer. The importer clears the material and assumes legal responsibilities under CBAM. Before a manufacturer uses the metal in a vehicle, machine, building or package, a processor may roll, cut, press, extrude or fabricate it.
One corporate group may perform several of these roles, but each link needs separate documentation. For flat steel products, the immediate EU counterparty may be a service centre that manages inventory and processing. A coil can then undergo slitting, cold reduction, galvanising and stamping before reaching a component producer or vehicle assembly plant.
Serbian rolled aluminium sheet may also receive further finishing or be used in packaging production and European fabrication. Customs records identify the country of entry and product category, not every processing step or the final customer. Claims that Serbian metal directly supplies particular European carmakers therefore require traceable transactions, not an inference from trade totals.
Impol Seval, a rolled-aluminium producer based in Sevojno, reported export revenues of roughly €89.7 million in the first half of 2025. Its public report named Germany, Italy and France as important markets. The disclosure shows the company’s export orientation, but does not name end users for individual sheets or strips or establish supplies to a specific automotive or aerospace manufacturer.
Contracts determine how CBAM costs are passed on
The party legally responsible for CBAM certificates may not ultimately pay the cost. An importer could be responsible for the certificates and pass the expense to a distributor, which could then raise prices for a fabricator or final manufacturer. Alternatively, a large industrial buyer could require the Serbian supplier to absorb the cost through a lower ex-works price.
Without contractual evidence, identifying an ultimate purchaser would not establish who bears the expense. A reliable register of companies benefiting from Serbian metal exports would require more than an HS-code spreadsheet. Where lawfully accessible, it could use importer EORI and legal-name records, purchase orders, delivery terms, distribution agreements, factory receiving records and customer acceptance documents.
Tracking would also require preserving the material’s identity and originating installation through processing. Business links should be classified as confirmed by a primary document, disclosed through a corporate relationship or representing only a plausible downstream application. These categories should not be presented as equivalent evidence.
A next-stage map could start with product-specific flows into Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Germany and Slovenia, then trace named processors only where independent records allow attribution. The customs figures establish the scale and routes of trade, but do not identify final factories or determine how CBAM-related costs are divided among suppliers, importers and manufacturers.
Elevated by CBAM by Clarion Engineer