Exceptio Inadimpleti Contractus: CBAMs as International Countermeasures

A growing number of states and international organizations, including the EU and the US, are envisaging carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs) as a means to implement their climate policies. From an economic perspective, CBAMs are instruments aiming to level crossborder trade between countries that implement uneven carbon pricing schemes. From a legal perspective, CBAMs arc considered 'general exceptions' tofree trade, whose laufulness is debated in the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This article develops a systemic analysis of CBAMs, notably the EU CBAM, tinder general and particular international law, and argues that they could be framed under the specific exception of `countermeasures' under treaty law, particularly the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), thus fundamentally establishing a presumption of legality.