UK steel safeguards not aimed at India, majority of exports remain unaffected: Former India-UK FTA Chief Negotiator

New Delhi [India], July 15 (ANI): UK’s safeguard measures on steel imports are designed to shield its domestic industry from unfairly priced overseas shipments and are not targeted at India, Harjinder Kang, the UK’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia and former chief negotiator for the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), said, seeking to allay concerns among Indian steel exporters over the newly implemented trade pact.

Speaking to ANI, Kang said the UK’s steel safeguards were introduced to protect domestic manufacturers from overseas dumping, a challenge faced by several countries, and should not be viewed as a measure directed against Indian steel producers.

Addressing concerns over import restrictions and how steel quotas under the agreement will be structured, the Chief Negotiator emphasised that existing UK trade defence measures were not aimed at targeting Indian trade.

“…The steel safeguards that the UK has put in place are essentially designed to protect the industry from overseas dumping…It has nothing to do with India. It is not an anti-India measure in any shape or form,” Kang asserted.

He further minimised the potential fallout on bilateral trade volumes, explaining that the restrictions only touch a fraction of current exports. “By and large, the majority of steel exported from India to the UK is unaffected. It is actually only a small proportion, in the double digits, around 15-20% of the type of steel India exports that falls within the affected category. This is something we discussed with the Indian government to find a way to address the issue. We reached an amicable solution, and everything is good…” Kang said.

The clarification comes amid industry concerns over the treatment of steel exports under the India-UK Free Trade Agreement, which came into force on Wednesday. While the agreement significantly lowers tariffs across thousands of product lines, steel exports remain subject to quota-based safeguard measures in certain categories.

Notably, the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) officially came into effect today. Signed in London, the landmark pact unlocks zero-duty access for 90.2% of Indian exports to the UK and slashes India’s import duties on key British products.

Kang explained that the safeguard regime was introduced to address concerns over low-cost steel entering the UK market from various parts of the world, making domestic production commercially unviable. He emphasised that the policy is intended to preserve the competitiveness of Britain’s steel industry rather than discriminate against any specific trading partner.

He added that the issue was discussed extensively during the FTA negotiations and that both governments reached what he described as an amicable solution.

“We’ve discussed it with the Indian government to find some way of addressing that. We came to an amicable solution to that and it’s all good,” he said.

The India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will significantly lower the cost burden for temporary professional movements, even as both nations navigate distinct regulatory frameworks on trade mechanisms like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and steel quotas.

Speaking on how the agreement addresses the long-standing issue of dual social security taxation for professionals, Harjinder Kang highlighted the benefits of the Double Contribution Convention for temporary workers.

“…If you are a UK worker paying your National Insurance contributions in the UK, you do not then need to contribute to the host country’s social security system if you are there on a temporary basis for a certain number of years,” Kang said, explaining that the mechanism operates symmetrically.

“The same principle applies to Indian nationals. If they are going to the UK temporarily and continuing to pay into their National Insurance or social security system in India, such as the Provident Fund, they would not have to pay National Insurance contributions in the UK. This applies for a specific period. It was originally 36 months, but we agreed to extend it to 60 months, or five years. After that, it no longer applies,” he added.

According to Kang, this extension to five years will offer substantial relief to major Indian IT and engineering conglomerates. “If a company like Tata or Infosys is sending engineers, managers, or other professionals to the UK for a couple of years on a temporary assignment, this is where they would benefit. It would encourage more two-way movement because the cost burden would be lower. It directly affects the pockets of individuals moving between countries, as they would no longer have to pay two sets of social security contributions,” he noted.

While the movement of professionals marks a collaborative step forward, the UK’s unilateral green trade policies, specifically the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), remain entirely outside the ambit of the bilateral trade talks.

When asked whether the UK CBAM would escalate costs for Indian steel exporters, Kang clarified that the environmental levy was kept separate from the trade negotiations. “We made it clear from day one that CBAM was never part of the FTA. It was not discussed as part of the agreement. We will address it if and when it comes…” he stated.

The India-UK FTA is expected to eliminate or reduce tariffs on the vast majority of goods traded between the two countries, with the agreement projected to boost bilateral trade and deepen economic cooperation. Kang said the safeguards affecting a limited range of steel products should not overshadow the broader gains expected from the landmark trade pact. (ANI)

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