Turkey's steel industry runs predominantly on scrap-based EAF — one of the lowest-carbon production routes. That's a genuine structural advantage under CBAM, if it's actually documented.
Last verified: 02 September 2026
Turkey's steel industry is structurally different from many major exporters to the EU: roughly 75% of production capacity is EAF-based (electric arc furnace, running primarily on scrap steel) — 27 EAF plants against just 3 BOF plants. In 2025, Turkey produced 38.1 million tonnes of crude steel, consuming around 33.3 million tonnes of scrap in the process.
Per worldsteel's published industry averages, scrap-based EAF is one of the lowest-carbon standard production routes:
| Production route | Typical CO₂ intensity |
|---|---|
| Scrap-based EAF | ~0.3–0.67 tCO₂/t crude steel |
| Gas-based DRI-EAF | ~1.4 tCO₂/t crude steel |
| BF-BOF (integrated) | ~2.32 tCO₂/t crude steel |
These are industry-average figures for context, not CBAM default values. Your actual obligation still depends on the specific CN code's Commission-published default value (EU IR 2025/2621) or your supplier's verified actual data. See how default values actually work.
A scrap-EAF-heavy supplier base means Turkish steel starts from a genuinely lower industry-average baseline than a BF-BOF-dominant one — but that advantage only shows up in your CBAM obligation if it's actually captured as verified data, not left as a default-value declaration that doesn't reflect the real process.
Compare the default-value and actual-data scenarios for your specific import with the default vs. actual calculator.
Roughly 75% of Turkey's steel production capacity is EAF-based (scrap) — 27 electric arc furnace plants against just 3 BOF plants, per Turkish steel industry data. Turkey produced 38.1 million tonnes of crude steel in 2025, consuming roughly 33.3 million tonnes of scrap.