India initiated discussions with the European Union (EU) on its proposed adjustment of safeguard measures on steel imports which could affect Indian export.
The Indian government, in a submission at the World Trade Organisation, said that it has substantial trade interest in steel exports and asked to participate in discussions on how the measures should be implemented, according to media reports.
The EU put in place tariff rate quotas (TRQ’s) on steel imports as a safeguard measures in 2018 following the US decision to impose additional duties on steel imports from several countries including Russia, India and Turkey.
Fixed quotas for steel imports for exporting countries — beyond which the items would attract additional imports duties of 25pc — raised concerns about a spike in imports due to diversion from the US market.
India is among the main steel exporters to the EU which includes China, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and Ukraine. Steel exports from India to the EU have taken a beating since the safeguard measures were imposed in 2018.
According to the EU’s latest submission, it wants to move to a quarterly management of all country-specific quotas to ensure that imports are evened out and remained unchanged during the duration of the measures.
The report stated that it also wants to introduce a refined access regime for the residual quota to be accessed by exporting countries.