Medcem said this week that it had commissioned a new terminal in Trieste. The timing sends a message because the European Union’s (EU) Cross Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) started its full effect on 1 January 2026. This means that it now potentially costs more to import cement into the EU. So why would a non-EU cement importer want to start running import terminals?
Türkiye-based Medcem ended 2025 with the announcement that a new terminal in Antwerp, Belgium, had started operation. That was followed this week by the commissioning of the new terminal in Trieste, Italy. The latter site was built with Seadock, a local subsidiary of Samer Group. The unit has a storage capacity of 11,000t and is expected to process up to 120,000t/yr. Notably, the terminal will unload cargo via an underground pipeline connected to the quay and stored in nearby silos before despatch across the EU.
When Global Cement Magazine spoke to Mehmet Ali Ceylan, the CEO of Medcem in 2024, he described his company as an “export-oriented” one. At the time its main markets for cement were the US, the Middle East and the UK. The EU was the principal destination for clinker. In the UK it built a terminal in Sheerness in 2024 and is expected to commission others, in Glasgow and Liverpool, in 2026.
CBAM went live at the start of 2026 following a two-year transition phase. The simple version is that importers of certain goods including cement pay a fee for the emissions intensity of the product and then an EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) cost. However, the actual calculation is much more complicated than this and the European Commission has been continually tweaking the system. In mid-December 2025 it emerged that the commission had lowered its benchmark emissions intensity figures for various commodities, putting up the cost to import. Grey cement clinker's benchmark, for example, dropped to 0.666/t CO2 from 0.693/t CO2. The commission also set default emissions values to calculate CBAM costs if producers failed to disclose their actual emissions. All of this generally favours larger importers that understand the system, can verify their emissions and can still compete on price. Nor should industrial suppliers feel left out, since the commission also decided to expand the scope of the CBAM to include industrial machinery from the start of 2028.
Last time Global Cement Weekly looked at the effects of CBAM in Europe, the conclusion was that Türkiye was the most exposed to the new scheme as the biggest source of imports but that the emissions intensity of its cement was considered to be fairly competitive. Countries in North Africa faced differing consequences but there would be some potential losers. Ukraine, in particular, was likely to face issues with exports to the EU under the new scheme. Recent figures from Argus suggest that trading prices for cement from Türkiye and Egypt would suffer against those from Pakistan and Vietnam. However, this does not take into account the new CBAM costs.
Graph 1: Sources of cement and clinker imports to the EU in 2024. Source: Eurostat/Cement Europe
Naturally, a number of countries complained when the full version of the CBAM started. A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce called it “unfair and discriminatory” and said that the country might consider countermeasures. The India-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), warned the Times of India newspaper that the move would shift the decarbonisation costs on to developing countries, including India. It added that the scheme could generate €1.5bn/yr for the EU by 2028 at the expense of the Global South.
Medcem’s investment in terminals within the EU suggests that it is confident enough to invest in operations in the region even as CBAM goes live. The three sites in the UK will be subject to the UK’s parallel scheme, due for introduction from 2027 onwards. It is also possible that Medcem is using its new terminals to increase its competitiveness under the new scheme. Medcem may also have an advantage, compared to an independent trader, that it can more easily verify the emissions at its plants. Generally, as mentioned above, each country’s share of cement and clinker imports to Europe looks set to shift as the new tax impacts the market. Watch this space.
Finally, spare a thought for those places in the EU but outside of Europe geographically. The French West Indies, for example, is part of the EU and subject to CBAM despite being in the Caribbean. Cement producers in Martinique complained to local press at the start of the year that prices will need to rise due to the necessity of importing clinker from outside of the EU.
