The circle of potential carbon tax payers has not yet been defined. In October 2020, the European Commission announced that steel, cement and electricity sectors could be the first to suffer. On the further stage, the above industries are expected to be joined by producers of aluminum, fertilizers and chemicals.

In the meantime, the EU and representatives of the exporting countries continue negotiations. Several target dates for introducing the tax are being discussed. The EU hopes that the tax withholding will start already in 2023, but the exporters expect this date to be shifted to 2025 or even further.

A compromise decision will probably prevail to charge the tax from 2023 under the pressure of the EU functionaries, but during the first "test" year or two, the scope of its payers will be limited to several industries.

Another outstanding issue, which is not yet resolved is what are the CO₂ emissions the suppliers will have to pay for. Only for those generated by the manufacturer itself, or indirect emissions will be added all at once? For example, the emissions that occurred during the product transportation. Since carbon emissions accounting still remains to be difficult, it is possible that EU functionaries will agree on some easement here.

It is unlikely, however, that the EU will abandon their plans to impose the tax. The COVID-19 pandemic has only made the bureaucrats more stringent. They anticipate increased demand for energy-intensive resources, including carbon-intensive products, while the economy recovers after the pandemic. The idea of the European Commission is that the new tax will prevent a backlash in environmental policy.