Indian steel companies, with the support of the Indian government, are seeking to expand markets in the Middle East and Asia to offset the impact of the European Union’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), a government official said on Thursday, February 19.
Last week, secretary of India’s steel ministry, Sandeep Poundrik, had said the government would have to take action to support exports hit by Europe’s carbon tax.
“For exports, we are looking at new markets, and we are trying to get agreements with countries in the Middle East where a lot of infrastructure is coming up, and also in Asia,” the official said.
Indian mills are looking for government support to help them compete in non-EU markets where China has been dominant, he added.
The Indian government is also supporting domestic steel producers in widening raw material sourcing and securing overseas supplies of coking coal, limestone, manganese, and other critical minerals through pursuing long-term off-take agreements and asset acquisition in key countries abroad, he said.