Regulating EV Batteries' Carbon Footprint: EU Climate Ambition or Green Protectionism?

The European Union’s (EU’s) recent proposal for a new regulation on EV batteries is a groundbreaking effort, the first to focus on the entire value chain to improve product sustainability and safety throughout the life cycle. Battery producers inside and outside of the EU will have to meet a series of requirements, starting from carbon footprint declaration and related labeling to complying with life-cycle carbon footprint thresholds, for having their products placed in the EU market. While addressing climate change is the key objective, the EU is also seeking to boost its competitiveness, strengthen domestic battery manufacturing capacity, and develop a local value chain. The Battery Regulation’s consistency with obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime thus becomes questionable. This Article explores key concepts of WTO law and examines the compatibility of the EU measures with the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. Notwithstanding that unilateral measures can be permissible, the EU must ensure that design and implementation of its Battery Regulation can contribute to its climate ambition instead of simply being “green protectionism.”