Goyal warns EU rules could raise costs and weaken industry

India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal warned that European Union carbon and steel trade rules could raise costs for businesses and consumers and weaken the bloc’s industrial competitiveness, speaking at the Berlin Global Dialogue on October 22. He also said trading partners could respond with restrictions that hurt European companies. Goyal criticized the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or CBAM, and a separate steel safeguard, describing the measures as burdensome. He argued that higher costs for steel and other industrial materials could feed through to infrastructure projects and living expenses. Those consequences were his forecasts; the remarks do not establish that the measures have produced those effects. The European Commission distinguishes the two policies. It says CBAM entered its definitive phase on January 1, 2026, and covers six sectors. Importers of covered goods must declare embedded emissions and surrender certificates. The Commission says the mechanism is intended to price those emissions and address carbon leakage. A separate steel safeguard took effect July 1, according to the Commission. It sets annual duty-free quotas of 18.3 million...