After India and the European Union (EU) failed to reach consensus on the EU's restrictive safeguard measures on certain steel products, New Delhi has proposed imposing retaliatory duties under World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms on certain goods imported from the EU. In a communication to the WTO, India underscored that it "reserves the right to suspend substantially equivalent concessions or other obligations" under a provision of the Agreement on Safeguards on the EU's trade. The proposal comes as India negotiates a free trade agreement with the EU to boost trade and investment ties.
EU's safeguard measures cause trade loss to India
The EU's measures have caused a trade loss of USD 1.472 billion annually (2023-2024) to India, on which the duty collection (at 25 per cent duty) would be USD 368 million.
The communication sent to the WTO mentions, "The measure has caused a cumulative trade loss of USD 6.92 billion to India since 18 July 2018, on which duty collection would be USD 1.73 billion."
India and the EU held consultations on March 19, 2025, in online mode on the European Union's move. "India and the EU exchanged views on the measure. The EU and India could not reach an agreement on maintaining substantially equivalent concessions or on trade compensation," it said. The consultations were held regarding the EU's safeguard measures on certain steel products.
Earlier, the EU decided to extend safeguard duties on imports of certain steel product categories with an out-of-quota duty of 25 per cent for another two years till 2026. This was the second extension, with the first being imposed in 2018.
India's exports to Europe on a rise
Notably, India has substantial interest as an exporter of the products concerned, and the EU's measure is inconsistent with global trade rules. India's exports to the EU rose by 1.5 per cent to USD 76 billion in 2023-24, while imports dipped by about 3 per cent to USD 59.38 billion in 2023-24.
(With inputs from AP)
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