India gets duty-free access for over 11 lakh tonnes of steel exports to UK under trade pact

Indian exporters will be able to ship over 11 lakh tonnes of steel annually to the UK duty-free under the free trade agreement, which came into force on Wednesday, through a combination of country-specific and residual quotas, an official said.

The UK’s 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, 2025. The resolution of the issue has paved the way for the implementation of the agreement from July 15.

Overall, 188 steel items accounting for $137 million worth of steel exports from India to Britain were covered by these safeguard measures. India’s total steel exports were $960 million in 2025.

To protect the interest of our exporters, India engaged extensively with the UK side to mitigate the impact of the steel measure on India’s exporters.

Based on the consultations with stakeholders, India requested the UK for enhancing quota for India under the steel measure.

After 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 said. “As a result of these successful negotiations, India’s total country-specific quota (CSQ) under the new framework stands elevated at 1,68,029 tonnes, seamlessly complemented by the exclusive 9.45 lakh tonnes under the Authorised Use Scheme (AUS),” an official said.

To mitigate potential trade impacts and maintain equilibrium in the bilateral deal, the UK has expanded tariff-free access across critical product categories.

For non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheets and strips, the country-specific quota for India has been nearly tripled — from 12,405 tonnes to 33,456 tonnes.

In 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 9.45 lakh tonnes of dedicated trade volume.

Similarly, under category 28 (non-alloy wire), the market access has been protected by removing nine commodity codes from the scope of the measure, ensuring that 95 per cent of India’s exports in this category remain entirely free of restrictions.

The official added that India successfully secured expanded access in critical sub-categories, with Category 12B (non-alloy merchant bars and light sections) residual quota scaling up to 4,540 tonnes (from 468 tonnes) and Category 26 (other welded tubes) residual quota rising to 16,327 tonnes (from 10,809 tonnes).