British trade negotiators made last‑minute concessions to India that could undermine one of the UK’s most prized steelmaking assets, according to insiders. A decision to grant India large quotas of galvanised steel during eleventh‑hour negotiations in June to secure the UK‑India free trade deal came despite UK government moves to protect the British industry from cheap overseas imports.

Union leaders warned that the quotas were particularly harmful for Tata Steel UK’s Llanwern plant in Newport, South Wales, which makes 600,000 tonnes of galvanised steel a year, nearly half of total UK demand for the material. Alasdair Mc Diarmid of the Community union said the quotas were punitive, threatening the sustainability of the strategic plant.

The UK had planned to cut India’s quota by a substantial quantity, but relented after New Delhi threatened to delay the free trade deal. India was granted a 125,000‑tonne quota, while South Korea and Vietnam received 100,000 and 175,000 tonnes respectively.

Industry experts are baffled by_ONE_ the liberalisation of category 4 for non‑EU countries, given the safeguards imposed on other steel categories. A government spokesperson said the measure aims to balance protection and supply security.