The mechanisms of tariff quotas for steel (TRQ) under the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which were initially seen as providing India with greater access to the EU steel market, have come under increased scrutiny following the publication of detailed product distributions. Although the agreement provides for a total guaranteed quota for a specific country of 1.64 million tons, this is comparable to India's current rights under the new EU steel import regime. This indicates that in fact, allocations for several key types of steel products are lower, which leaves uncertainty about the amount of additional market access provided by the Agreement on free trade.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the Free Trade Agreement provides India with total country-specific quotas of 1.64 million tons, including a most-favored-nation (MFN) component of 946,616 tons and a free trade agreement component of 694,853 tons. Initially, this agreement was interpreted as ensuring that India would gain wider access to the EU steel market by adding preferential FTA allocation to the component НБН.
However, the detailed product distribution has since led the Indian steel industry to question this interpretation. Market participants note that the total volume of guaranteed country-specific quotas of 1.64 million tons under the Free Trade Agreement is about 300,000 tons lower than the country-specific quotas allocated to India under the EU steel production regulation in June.
Differences in the main steel quotas can be seen in the table below (million tons)).
By продукту | Most-favored-nation quota (according to the Free Trade Agreement) | Quota of the Free Trade Agreement (according to the Free Trade Agreement) | Total quota (according to the Free Trade Agreement) | MFN quota (June 2026) | Quota of the Free Trade Agreement (June 2026) | Total quota (June 2026) |
| HRC | 299,197 | 210,408 | 509,605 | 299,196 | 298,077 | 597,274 |
| CRC | 125,581 | 93,077 | 218,658 | 125,581 | 144,393 | 269,974 |
| Metal-coated sheets (4A)) | 113,084 | 84,776 | 197,860 | 113,083 | 120,099 | 233,183 |
| Organic Sheets покрытием | 110,919 | 75,119 | 186,038 | 110,919 | 106,418 | 217,337 |
| Stainless steel bars and lightweight профили | & nbsp; 47,409 | & nbsp; 31,869 | & nbsp; 79,278 | & nbsp; 47,409 | & 45,147 | & nbsp; 92,556 |
| Gas-fired трубы | 20,421 | 13,924 | 34,346 | 20,421 | 19,726 | 40,147 |
| Seamless stainless steel pipes | 7,886 | 5,253 | 13,140 | 7,886 | 7,442 | 15,328 |
| Other welded трубы | 12,092 | 8,853 | 20,946 | 12,092 | 12,542 | 24,634 |
According to a report by Reuters, the Indian steel industry is pushing for an increase in quotas. by 29-35% in all categories of steel products. Reuters also published a message sent to the Indian Ministry of Commerce, which states: "India's total guaranteed quota for a particular country under the agreement is less than its current common law, which puts the country at a disadvantage in terms of market access."
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