India-UK trade: Indian exporters get duty-free access for over 11 lakh tonnes of steel

Indian exporters will be able to ship over 11 lakh tonnes of steel annually to the UK dutyfree under the free trade agreement which came into force on Wednesday through a combination of countryspecific and residual quotas an official saidThe UKs March steel safeguard measures had become a major sticking point in implementing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement CETA which was signed on July 24 2025The resolution of the issue has paved the way for the implementation of the agreement from July 15Overall 188 steel items accounting for USD 137 million worth of steel exports from India to Britain were covered by these safeguard measures Indias total steel exports were USD 960 million in 2025To protect the interest of our exporters India engaged extensively with the UK side to mitigate the impact of the steel measure on Indias exportersBased on the consultations with stakeholders India requested the UK for enhancing quota for India under the steel measureAfter prolonged and intense discussions at all levels between the two sides India has been able to secure robust market access and continuity for Indian exporters the government official saidAs a result of these successful negotiations Indias total countryspecific quota CSQ under the new framework stands elevated at 168029 tonnes seamlessly complemented by the exclusive 945 lakh tonnes under the Authorised Use Scheme AUS an official saidTo mitigate potential trade impacts and maintain equilibrium in the bilateral deal the UK has expanded tarifffree access across critical product categoriesFor nonalloy and other alloy hotrolled sheets and strips the countryspecific quota for India has been nearly tripled from 12405 tonnes to 33456 tonnesIn a major boost for Indian exporters the UK has reserved an exclusive 40 per cent of the quota under the AUS for India translating to about 945 lakh tonnes of dedicated trade volumeSimilarly under category 28 nonalloy wire the market access has been protected by removing nine commodity codes from the scope of the measure ensuring that 95 per cent of Indias exports in this category remain entirely free of restrictionsThe official added that India successfully secured expanded access in critical subcategories with Category 12B nonalloy merchant bars and light sections residual quota scaling up to 4540 tonnes from 468 tonnes and Category 26 other welded tubes residual quota rising to 16327 tonnes from 10809 tonnesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever