India secures steel export quota to EU under FTA

India will get country-specific Tariff-Rate Quotas (TRQs) totalling 1.64 million tonnes annually for exporting steel products to the European Union, of which 6,94,853 tonnes will be under the free trade agreement, according to the draft text of the pact released by the EU.

The total country-specific quota of 16,41,470 tonnes comprises 9,46,616 tonnes under the MFN (most favoured nation) component and 6,94,853 tonnes under the FTA component.
The quotas cover a wide range of steel products, including non-alloy and alloy hot-rolled sheets and strips, cold-rolled sheets, metallic-coated sheets, organic-coated sheets, tin mill products, stainless steel products, merchant bars and light sections, rebars, wire rods, pipes and tubes.

India at present exports about four million tonnes of steel per year to the EU.

The TRQs follow the European Union’s Steel Overcapacity Regulation, which came into force on July 1 this year. It is aimed at ensuring protection for the EU’s steel industry against the effects of global overcapacity. It sets free-of-duty quotas at 18.3 million tonnes, with a 50 per cent duty for out-of-quota imports and a melt-and-pour regime to enhance transparency.

According to the text, the largest country-specific quota is for non-alloy and other alloy hot-rolled sheets and strips at 5,09,605 tonnes, comprising 2,99,197 tonnes under the MFN component and 2,10,408 tonnes under the FTA component.

This is followed by cold-rolled sheets with a total quota of 2,18,658 tonnes and metallic-coated sheets with 1,97,860 tonnes.

Other major quotas include 1,86,038 tonnes for organic-coated sheets, 1,81,835 tonnes for non-alloy and other alloy quarto plates, 85,157 tonnes for another category of metallic-coated sheets and 79,278 tonnes for stainless steel bars and light sections.

It added that the TRQs relating to imports into the European Union of steel products originating in India shall take effect on the date the EU Steel Regulation starts applying.
Steel imports from India outside these quotas will attract the applicable base-rate duties under the EU’s tariff commitments.

“If the European Union amends the Product Specific Rules (PSRs) for products covered under the EU Steel Regulation, the European Union shall consult with India immediately upon the proposal for such an amendment,” the text said.

The EU would administer the TRQs, it said, in a transparent, objective and non-discriminatory manner so as to be conducive to trade and facilitate, to the extent feasible, their effective utilisation.
This includes making publicly available in a timely and continuous manner all relevant information concerning the administration of those TRQs.

It added that India will also get access to additional quota volumes in categories where India has a country-specific quota. Those additional volumes will be allocated through competition among EU FTA partners that have country-specific quotas in those categories.

For product categories where India does not have a country-specific quota, it will have access to residual quotas, including general residual quotas open to eligible trading partners and preferential quotas reserved for EU FTA partners.

The agreement provides for periodic reviews of the quotas, with the first review to be initiated one year after the FTA comes into force and subsequent reviews every five years.
India and the EU announced the conclusion of negotiations for the pact on January 27. It is expected to be signed by the end of this year and likely to be implemented next year.