Senior officials from India and the United Kingdom are scheduled to meet this month for their next round of talks for pursuing the proposed free trade agreement, an official said on Wednesday. The India-UK FTA negotiations started in January 2022; the progress was rolled back during their respective election cycles, with the 14th round ending.
The Official also Added that Both Sides Remain Engaged and the Next Round of Negotiations is to Commence Within the Current Month. Weeks Ago, the New British Premier Keir Starmer Reached Out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Conveyed its Willingness to Conclude the FTA That Suits Both Countries.
The agreed commitment by the leaders was to work towards the early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-UK FTA. But there are numerous unresolved issues in goods and services sectors. Indian industries want more opportunities to be provided for access to skilled professionals in sectors like IT, healthcare, etc., in the UK market and are pitching for duty-free access to a host of goods.
In return, Britain is eying major reductions in applied import duties on Scotch whiskey, electric vehicles, lamb meat, chocolates, and some confectionery items. Britain is also keen on increasing UK service exports to Indian markets, notably in areas such as telecommunications, legal services, and financial services.
The negotiations also include a bilateral investment treaty; the agreement has 26 chapters, including those on goods, services, investments, and intellectual property rights. Bilateral trade between India and the UK rose to USD 21.34 billion in 2023-24 from USD 20.36 billion in the previous fiscal year.
The Labour Party's manifesto for the recent elections committed to finalizing the FTA, pointing to continuity under the new Starmer-led government. The newly appointed foreign secretary, David Lammy, who expressed his readiness to push forward the FTA process once in power, has planned a visit to India within the first month of his tenure.
GTRI-associated analysts said the agreement is almost finalized and is now awaiting minor adjustments like visa quotas for Indian professionals. That would be a tough task, as India would have to take a definite stand for the first time on important issues like CBAM, Carbon Border Adjustment Measures; nontraditional subjects figuring in FTAs, which India always feared having reservations over due to their implications for domestic policies like labour, environment, gender, and intellectual property rights.
It also notes that even were the UK to eliminate its tariffs on products like textiles, Indian exports might not be able to meet the UK's stringent sustainability standards, which would create a disproportionate negative impact on the labor-intensive sectors.
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