ANCONAV has launched an extended internal consultation on the Romanian shipbuilding sector’s position in the European negotiations on the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), an initiative published by the European Commission to accelerate clean industrial production and strengthen EU competitiveness.
Following the consultation request circulated by Romania’s Ministry of Economy (MEDAT), the association stresses that the new framework can create major opportunities for the maritime industry, but also significant risks if implementation tools do not reflect the specific structure of shipbuilding supply chains.
Imagine: Nuno Nogueira, „Berlaymont building european commission”, licență CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berlaymont_building_european_commission.jpg).
Why IAA matters for shipbuilding
The IAA is designed to boost demand for low-carbon products manufactured in the EU and to accelerate industrial investment. For shipbuilding, this is strategic: European yards compete globally under intense pressure on costs, delivery timelines, and access to materials.
ANCONAV argues that EU industrial policy must support both decarbonisation and real production capacity, without shifting a disproportionate burden to downstream industries.
ANCONAV’s CBAM concern
A core point in the consultation is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). According to ANCONAV’s assessment, the current CBAM setup may deepen competitive disadvantages for European shipbuilding by raising core input costs and creating structural asymmetries versus non-EU competitors.
- higher steel and aluminium costs for shipbuilding projects;
- additional pressure on vessels built for the EU internal market;
- risk of relocating parts of value chains outside the EU;
- increased administrative burden for industrial operators.
Proposed adjustment lines
In this consultation, ANCONAV supports a package of targeted improvements:
- maintain protection mechanisms for sectors highly exposed to global competition;
- simplify CBAM compliance obligations, especially for resource-constrained operators;
- run a dedicated sectoral impact assessment for shipbuilding and maritime value chains;
- channel collected revenues toward practical industrial decarbonisation projects.
Next steps
ANCONAV will consolidate member feedback in order to submit a coherent position in institutional dialogue with national and European authorities. The objective is clear: green transition with preserved industrial competitiveness and shipbuilding capacity in Romania and across the EU.
Note: This article is an original editorial synthesis based on the source communication and does not reproduce the original email in full.
Versiunea în limba română: Consultarea IAA: ANCONAV propune corectarea CBAM pentru protejarea competitivității construcțiilor navale