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India has secured country-specific tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) of about 1.64 million tonne (MT) of steel products under its free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), providing exporters negotiated access to the bloc’s market at a time when Brussels is tightening controls on steel imports amid concerns over global overcapacity.
The steel arrangement under the FTA is significant because the EU’s new steel import regime will impose a 50% duty on imports entering outside the applicable quotas. The new quota was disclosed by the EU as it made public the draft of the FTA text. This text has been presented by the executive arm of the EU to the European Council that is composed of heads of state and governments seeking authorisation for its signing.
Under the country-specific quotas, India gets a combined 1,641,470 tonne, comprising 946,616 tonne under the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) component and 694,853 tonne under the FTA component.
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Understanding New Regime
Under the new EU Steel Regulation, which came into force on July 1, 2026, MFN quotas are allocated based on each country’s average share of EU imports in each product category during 2022-24 period. The move aims to protect the European steel market from global overproduction and cheap imports. The new regulation replaced older temporary safeguard rules that ran for 8 years, starting in 2018 and expiring on June 30, 2026 — the maximum duration allowed under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules for temporary safeguard actions.
The new EU steel regulation provides for tariff quotas and a 50% out-of-quota tariff, including for imports from countries with which the EU has free trade agreements.
Market Access & Protection
The quotas cover a broad range of products, including hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheets, metallic and organic-coated steel, tin mill products, quarto plates, stainless steel products, bars, wire rods, pipes and tubes.
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For Indian exporters, the negotiated quotas could, therefore, help preserve market access that might otherwise become more difficult as the EU tightens its steel regime. It provides predictable, country-specific access to the EU steel market.
The agreement also contains a mechanism to prevent India from being disadvantaged if the EU subsequently provides more favourable quota access to other FTA partners. The quotas will be reviewed one year after the FTA comes into force and subsequently every five years, taking into account market developments, quota utilisation and changes in the EU’s steel regime.
TOPICSIndia-EU FTAThis article was first uploaded on September thirteen, twenty twenty-six, at fifty-three minutes past eight in the night. © The Indian Express (P) Ltd