June 24,  2026 | Market Trends for the NQC Community

The global regulatory landscape continues to exhibit significant fluidity, highlighted by structural changes to international decarbonisation borders and shifting bilateral manufacturing alliances.

Alongside these developments, the European Parliament has formally ratified the EU-US Turnberry trade agreement, solidifying a critical baseline for transatlantic shipping corridors despite lingering global trade friction.

Key takeaways

    • Morocco Evaluates China Free-Trade Agreement: Morocco is evaluating a formal proposal from Beijing to secure greater access to Chinese consumer markets and diversify its export-oriented manufacturing sector beyond Europe.

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    • EU Extends Carbon Border Tax Scope: Member states have agreed to widen the legal reach of the carbon border tax to cover nearly 400 new types of downstream steel and aluminium imports to eliminate loophole circumvention.

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    • EU Plan to Grant Industries Extra Free CO2 Permits: The European Commission is tabling a proposal to retroactively increase free emissions allocations under the ETS to help domestic heavy industries compete with foreign rivals.

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    • MEPs Approve EU-US Trade Deal: The formal ratification of the Turnberry pact locks in a binding 15% US tariff ceiling on European industrial exports, providing cross-border supply networks with vital baseline stability.

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Morocco evaluates China free-trade agreement

China has formally requested Morocco to sign a bilateral free trade agreement.¹ The North African nation's industry minister confirmed the development as Rabat evaluates whether closer economic ties with Beijing will benefit its high-performing, export-oriented manufacturing sectors.¹ A finalised pact would offer local industrial manufacturers expanded access to the Chinese consumer market and help the country diversify its trading dependencies beyond traditional European networks.

Morocco has spent two decades systematically building robust domestic manufacturing industries, establishing highly competitive automotive, aerospace, and battery corridors.¹ It has successfully signed free trade agreements with dozens of international markets, including both the US and the European Union.¹ The proposed pact would also boost Moroccan outbound shipments, such as finished automobiles destined for the South American Mercosur trade bloc.¹

Within this context, trade leadership has emphasised that Morocco continues to maintain an open investment environment to support its long-term manufacturing growth, welcoming international capital irrespective of its geographical origin.¹

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EU extends carbon border tax scope

European Union member states have officially agreed to extend the bloc’s carbon border tax to almost 400 new types of steel and aluminium imports in a direct effort to stop circumvention of the levy.² Competitive edge at the same time as pursuing decarbonisation.² Managing greenhouse gases inevitably introduces higher processing costs for European industry.²

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which came into force at the start of the year, legally obliges importers of foundational commodities - including steel, aluminium, iron, cement, and fertilisers, alongside electricity and hydrogen imports - to pay for their embedded CO2 content.² It is structurally designed to protect European manufacturers from cheap, carbon-intensive foreign imports that do not face equivalent domestic emissions penalties.² By incorporating hundreds of downstream product variations, regulators intend to close loophole routes where raw metals are processed into basic components outside the bloc to bypass initial border pricing.

EU plan to grant industries extra free CO2 permits 

According to EU diplomats and draft conclusions for a summit of EU leaders, the European Union plans to grant industry additional free CO2 permits this year.³ The targeted measure is designed to provide rapid relief to domestic heavy industries as they face steep competition from foreign rivals operating under weaker climate mandates.³

The adjustment responds directly to sustained political pressure from member states - including Italy, Poland, and the Czech Republic - demanding a loosening of the EU's flagship climate change policy, the Emissions Trading System (ETS), when the Commission presents a formal revision of the scheme in mid-July.³

Under standard ETS rules, heavy emitters must purchase carbon permits as a financial incentive to lower greenhouse gas emissions.³ However, the new European Commission proposal introduces separate criteria aimed at increasing the free allocations determined on the basis of fallback benchmarks.³ Crucially for procurement leaders tracking cost models, the document confirmed that the deal will apply retroactively from 1 January 2026, meaning chemical producers, refineries, and other heavy emitters will receive an immediate influx of free permits this year.³

MEPs approve EU-US trade deal

The European Parliament voted formally to adopt the bilateral EU-US trade deal struck last summer by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland.⁴ The final legislative greenlight required to implement the agreement was secured despite sudden friction regarding domestic digital services taxation on big tech firms.⁴

The historic vote allows the EU to remove its duties on the vast majority of incoming US industrial products, as agreed under the initial Turnberry framework.⁴ In return, European exporters receive a stabilised, predictable trading corridor with US tariffs officially capped at a 15% ceiling.⁴

US Trade Enforcement Baseline

60
Trading partners are facing new Section 301 tariffs due to forced labour enforcement failures.
15%
Maximum tariff ceiling in trade deals with the EU and Japan.
16
Major US trading partners.

 

While some lawmakers have consistently criticised the agreement as imbalanced, the Commission has maintained that it represents the most robust baseline it could secure to protect cross-border shipping.⁴ To manage long-term volatility, negotiators integrated an explicit sunset clause to end the trade deal on 31 March 2029 unless formally renewed.⁴ Furthermore, a critical safety provision allows the Commission to suspend the trade agreement at the request of Parliament or a member state if the US administration fails to lift its underlying tariffs on European steel and aluminium by the end of 2026.⁴

 

 

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