India-UK trade deal: India and the UK have released a joint statement on the resumption of trade deal negotiations between both nations. Earlier, when PM Modi met his British counterpart Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November 2024, he underscored the importance of resuming trade negotiations at an early date. PM Modi and Starmer also directed the negotiators to work together to resolve the outstanding issues in the agreement to achieve a fair and equitable trade deal for shared success.
How will the deal impact bilateral trade?
Once signed, the bilateral trade between India and the UK is expected to be doubled or even tripled from the current USD 20 billion in the next 10 years.
The joint statement said that India and the UK resumed negotiations towards a trade deal between our two countries. It highlighted the close relations between both countries, which are built through collaboration in several areas, including security and defence, new and emerging technologies, climate, health, education, research and innovation, green finance, and people-to-people contacts.
What does India want from the deal?
In the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the UK, India is looking to get greater access for its students and professionals in the UK market. New Delhi also wants better market access for several goods at nil customs duty.
The UK seeks India to give a significant cut in import duties on goods, including Scotch whiskey, electric vehicles, lamb meat, chocolates, and certain confectionary items. Britain also sees more opportunities for UK services in Indian markets in segments like telecommunications, legal and financial services, including banking and insurance.
The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to USD 21.34 billion in 2023-24 from USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23. Britain is the sixth-largest investor in India. The country received USD 35.3 billion in FDI between April 2000 and September 2024.
The negotiations for the trade pact come at a time when US President Donald Trump has announced imposing reciprocal tariffs on imported goods from America's trade partners, including India.
(With inputs from agencies)
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