Shantanu Singh / @shansebolo

Helpful table of trade authorities and their respective limits and requirements that the Trump administration can resort to if the SCOTUS finds illegal the reciprocal tariffs imposed under the IEEPA.

From: customsandinternationaltradelaw.com/2026/01/09/i...

India seeks flexibility in CBAM, steel quotas as FTA talks with EU enter final lap India seeks concessions on CBAM and steel quotas as FTA negotiations with the EU approach conclusion, aiming for strategic advancements.

EU/India Trade Talks

India seeks flexibility in CBAM, steel quotas as FTA talks with EU enter final lap.
"It is clear that the EU will not give exemption from CBAM to any country (...)," source tracking the matter told businessline.
www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/indi...

Having missed the ‘Fall’ deadline, India is aiming to conclude the first tranche of the BTA before [2025]. Yet, despite the latest round of meetings in New Delhi and a phone call between Prime Minister and the US President, there is still no clarity regarding the finalisation of the deal.

The US team, on the other hand, has been insisting that agriculture-related market access, digital trade, and non-tariff barriers are some of the issues that still need to be sorted. That apart, some work of the legal text also needs to be fine-tuned.

It is learnt that the Indian side had made its offer during the October round of talks. Since then, the Indian side has maintained that most differences have been narrowed down and there is no need for a fresh round of negotiation.

“The US (side) feels that certain aspects of the digital personal data protection law are a non-tariff barrier for American companies,” a person aware of the matter told Business Standard.

Another issue raised relates to the strict compliance norms for social media and internet intermediaries under the IT Rules, 2021. These rules require all such companies to appoint nodal officers for round-the-clock coordination with law enforcement agencies and to look into users’ grievances.

One of these is the data localisation norms prescribed under the DPDP executive rules, which allow cross-border data transfers but says a government-appointed committee can, at any time, decide if particular types of data will no longer be allowed to be transferred or processed outside India.

During the meetings held on December 10-11 with India's Commerce Minister, Secretary and chief negotiator Darpan Jain, Washington flagged specific provisions in the DPDP rules and IT Rules that it considers non-tariff barriers for American companies.

www.business-standard.com/economy/news...

The EU wants New Delhi to raise the quota of about 80,000 cars it could export to India under a reduced tariff, some of the people said. New Delhi, meanwhile, is seeking an easing of duties on some steel products exported to the EU and wants flexibility around [the CBAM].

While both sides made another political push after the summer break to finalize the deal, technical issues remain. The final outcome will likely be an agreement that’s more limited in terms of its ambition compared with others concluded by the EU in recent years, the people said.

Negotiations are now likely to stretch into next month, with both sides still hoping to clinch a deal that can be announced when Commission President Ursula von der Leyen leads a delegation to New Delhi in January, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

EU and India Unlikely to Finalize Trade Agreement by End of Year Trade negotiators from India and the European Union are no longer optimistic they can finalize a trade agreement by the end of the year, with talks stuck on a few key issues like steel and automobiles...

Quelle surprise: Trade negotiators from India and the EU are no longer optimistic they can finalize a trade agreement by the end of the year, with talks stuck on a few key issues like steel and automobiles, according to people familiar with the matter. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

According to the press note, both sides are now in the process of securing internal approvals for the final deal. However, according to sources, this is more of a formality, with the deal having been finalised and the signing set to happen soon.

PM Modi, Piyush Goyal expected to travel to Oman next week to sign free trade agreement PM Modi and Piyush Goyal to visit Oman next week to sign a free trade agreement, finalizing key international trade talks.

Indian Prime Minister and Commerce Minister are expected to travel to Oman next week to sign an FTA [..] A Cabinet proposal regarding the deal, submitted in March 2024, was deferred at the time, prompting further renegotiations. www.thehindu.com/business/pm-...

The reality is that the DCC is currently being negotiated, pursuant to side letters exchanged at the time of CETA's signing committing the two parties to ensuring that the CETA and the DCC enter into force simultaneously.

Also notable is the government's response concerning the India-UK Double Contributions Convention (DCC). Since the signing of the CETA in July, several newspapers wrongly reported that the DCC has been signed.

Importantly, the government has stated that no legislative changes are required to implement the CETA. Tariff concessions and preferential rules of origin will be notified under existing laws, as is done for other trade agreements.

The Indian government has yesterday informed the Parliament that the Union Cabinet's approval for the signing and ratification of the India-UK CETA has been obtained. As a result, internal procedures for ratification of the treaty by India are complete.

The review will also set up a subsidy scheme for exporters to ensure that they are not undercut [..] when selling in third countries. But negotiations are ongoing as to the source of the financing as [CBAM] proceeds [..] are already [..] committed to other parts of the [budget].

The commission is currently deciding in a separate process how to calculate the amount of tax that importers will have to pay for products that do not pay an equivalent carbon levy.

The products that will be included will be decided on the basis of the amount of CBAM material they use and how much risk there is that they could be produced outside the bloc, EU officials said.

The aim of extending the [CBAM] to downstream products, as well as raw commodities, is to prevent importers setting up facilities in Turkey or other neighbouring countries to process CBAM materials into finished goods before importing them in order to get around the charge.

EU expands carbon border tax to garden tools and washing machines Changes are intended to close loopholes in law to prevent carbon-intensive imports

CBAM review, which had been due to be presented on December 10, is likely to be delayed by a week, according to two EU officials, due to internal negotiations over the proposals, which also include anti-circumvention measures and subsidies for exporters. www.ft.com/content/4826...

If the government remains committed to the CCTS, better implementation is required. Building a functioning carbon market requires deep knowledge in financial markets, public finance, economics, and trade law. We should not assume that notification of a scheme equates to the solution of the problem.

The resulting treaty with the UK gave headlines, but it was not a deep trade agreement. It did not integrate markets in a way that reduces friction for high-value exchange. As we turn our eyes to the EU, we must avoid this mistake.

Substantial diplomatic capital was expended in [talks with UK], with an objective to seek exemptions from carbon adjustments. This was a misallocation of effort. A deep FTA cannot be obtained when one seeks to carve out exceptions to fundamental fiscal principles like VAT or carbon border pricing.

"Indian firms look better than peers partly because the cost of pollution is not reckoned correctly [..] This outperformance is a trap. When selling into CBAM countries, this pollution arbitrage vanishes. Failures of electricity policy now harm exporters."

www.business-standard.com/opinion/colu...

India at the WTO: Strategic caution or self-inflicted isolation? India’s approach at the WTO is still driven by a mindset formed in the late 1990s: that saying ‘no’ is an essential first step that protects policy autonomy, and that resisting new negotiations is the...

Shishir Priyadarshi: "If India blocks plurilateral efforts inside the WTO, it does not stop the evolution of rules. It simply ensures that innovation happens in exclusive settings where India is not in the room." sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/indi...

Congratulations Prof!