UK steel import curbs delaying operationalising of CETA

“The UK has come ahead with a steel measure recently, which was not factored in while negotiating the India-UK deal. We are working together to find a unique, creative solution around the steel measure also so that we can officialise the India-UK FTA at a mutually agreed date,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said. Earlier the agreement was expected to come into force from April-May.

From 1 July 2026, the UK government will limit tariff-free steel imports, reducing overall quota volumes by 60% compared to the steel safeguard measure. Any imports above these levels will then face a 50% tariff. The measure will apply to imports of steel products that can also be made in the UK. These measures were announced by the UK government on 19th March this year.

Earlier the UK had safeguard measures that also imposed a quota on imports. The new measures reduce that quota. 

India’s exports of iron and steel and their products to the UK stood at $ 893.4 million in 2025-26, which accounts for a significant portion of $ 13.4 billion of total merchandise exports to the UK. 

The CETA signed in July 2025, has been vetted by both houses of UK’s Parliament in March. In India the ratification of FTAs is through executive process, needing Cabinet approval. Now both sides have to decide on a mutually agreed date for the Entry into Force (EIF) of the agreement.

The CETA will allow 99% of the Indian exports to enter the UK duty free and cover almost 100% of the trade in value terms. For the UK, India will reduce or eliminate duties on 90% of the tariff lines that account for 92% of the imports.

The immediate target for the FTA is to double bilateral trade – both goods and services – to $ 120 billion by 2030 from $ 56.9 billion in 2024-25. The talks on the agreement began in January 2022 and were concluded on May 6 last year.