India secures dominant share of European duty-free steel quotas via FTAs

India has successfully safeguarded its competitive trade edge in Europe and the UK following the implementation of synchronised steel trade restrictions by both regions, which took effect on Wednesday. To combat global supply overcapacity, both regions have slashed global duty-free steel quotas and raised out-of-quota import tariffs from 25% to a steep 50%. Despite these cuts, New Delhi’s proactive Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have granted the country significant relative advantages. Under the newly negotiated India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), set to be operationalised on July 15, 2026, India secured the highest duty-free allocation among the UK’s trade partners outside the EU, locking in a total quota of 1.67 lakh tonnes against its current export volume of 1.37 lakh tonnes. Similarly, the EU capped total duty-free steel imports but reserved half of that allocation exclusively for its FTA partners, according to a report.

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