The Indian Primary Copper Producers Association (IPCPA) has warned that rising copper rod imports from the UAE under the India-UAE CEPA could hurt domestic investment in refining.

Imports nearly doubled to 86 kt in FY25, with duties cut to 1 per cent in May 2025 and set to fall to zero by May 2026. The IPCPA argued that the UAE, lacking smelting capacity, merely converts imported cathodes to rods with minimal value addition.

It urged revisions to Product-Specific Rules (PSR) to ensure at least 40 per cent local value addition and a cap of 20,000 tonnes per year on the tariff rate quota to safeguard Indian producers.