India will be able to export 1.64 million tonnes of steel per year to the EU under the FTA

India has agreed an individual annual quota for steel exports with the European Union. According to the agreed text of the free trade agreement (FTA), the total quota will amount to 1.64 million tonnes per year. Shipments exceeding this limit will be subject to a 50% EU duty.  This is reported by SteelRadar.

The total volume of duty-free exports consists of two parts:

• 946.6 thousand tonnes — the current quota under the Most-Favoured-Nation (WTO) regime;
• 694.9 thousand tonnes — an additional preferential quota granted under the free trade agreement.

The new aggregate quota will cover approximately 68.4% of the total volume of Indian steel exports to the EU, which stood at around 2.4 million tonnes in 2025 (by way of comparison, the WTO base quota covered only 39.4%).

The quota covers a wide range of steel products, including hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheets and strips of alloy and non-alloy steel, coated sheet steel, stainless steel products, as well as long products, reinforcing bars and wire rod. The majority of the quota is allocated to flat-rolled products, with hot-rolled sheets and strips accounting for the largest share — 509.6 thousand tonnes.

Despite the expansion of access, representatives of the Indian steel industry noted in a report to the Indian Ministry of Commerce that the guaranteed volume falls short of the sector’s current needs, as the industry had been expecting a 29–35% increase in quotas. They emphasised that this could place the country at a disadvantage in terms of access to the European market.

Furthermore, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) think tank, the preferential quota does not exempt Indian exporters from the European Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). GTRI estimates that, once the CBAM is fully implemented, additional carbon costs could amount to an average of up to 35% of the cost of production.

The agreement must go through the necessary approval and ratification procedures. It is expected that the process will be completed and the new quotas will come into force by the end of 2026.

As reported by GMK Center, India will be able to export 1.1 million tonnes of steel to the UK each year duty-free under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which came into force on 15 July.