India challenges UK steel curbs

India raised objections at the World Trade Organization this week to Britain's tighter steel-import safeguards, opening a new trade dispute even as New Delhi and London try to put their recently agreed trade pact into effect. A Geneva-based official said India flagged its concerns at a key WTO meeting over the UK's plan to sharply reduce tariff-free steel import quotas from July 1, 2026. The UK measures would cut the overall quota available under existing safeguards by 60%, and imports above those levels would face a 50% tariff. ### What exactly did India challenge in Geneva? The WTO's Council for Trade in Goods was the forum where India raised the issue, according to Indian media reports citing officials. New Delhi said the UK move would apply to steel products that can also be made in Britain, and argued that the tighter limits would affect exporters that had been shipping under the existing safeguard system. (business-standard.com) Britain's planned changes would take effect on July 1, 2026. Business Standard, citing an official in Geneva, reported that the UK will reduce tariff-free imports under the safeguard regime by 60% and levy a 50% tariff on steel shipped above those quotas. (business-standard.com) ### Which countries lined up with India? India was not alone in objecting. A Geneva-based official told Business Standard that Brazil, Turkiye, Switzerland and Australia also expressed concerns about the UK's proposed action. Hindu BusinessLine separately reported that India aligned with China and Japan in opposing the British curbs at the WTO, while another report from the same publication said Brazil, Japan and South Korea also opposed the move. (business-standard.com) The differing country lists in those reports reflect the way objections were aired by multiple members during the WTO discussion rather than through a single formal complaint document available in the search results. What is consistent across the reports is that India joined other steel-exporting countries in challenging the British plan. (business-standard.com) ### How do the UK safeguards work? The UK safeguard is a tariff-rate quota system on steel imports. A House of Commons Library briefing says the measure allows certain volumes of steel imports at lower duty levels, while shipments above quota face a tariff intended to protect domestic producers from import surges. The briefing says the UK inherited the policy from the EU-era response to trade distortions that followed U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs in 2018. (business-standard.com) The UK government and the Trade Remedies Authority have been reviewing those quotas category by category. A GOV.UK notice says the authority began a tariff-rate quota review on February 28, 2025, then expanded its scope on March 26, 2025, after an application from UK industry. The notice says the review covered 14 product categories and recommended changes to quota allocation rules. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) ### Why does this matter for India-UK trade talks? India and Britain signed a trade agreement earlier in May, but steel has remained one of the operational issues still being worked through. Reuters reported on May 15 that India's trade secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the UK steel curbs had become an expected hurdle before the deal's rollout and that both sides were working on a "creative" solution. (gov.uk) Hindu BusinessLine reported that India would continue pursuing a bilateral solution with London even as it backed objections at the WTO. That means New Delhi is using both tracks at once: a multilateral forum in Geneva and direct talks tied to implementation of the broader trade pact. (msn.com) ### What happens next on July 1? July 1, 2026 is the date set for the tighter UK steel measures to begin, according to reports citing officials. Until then, India and Britain are expected to keep discussing whether the steel issue can be addressed bilaterally as part of putting their trade agreement into operation. (business-standard.com) (thehindubusinessline.com)