Talks on FTA between India and UK to resume soon

New Delhi, 23 Dec (KNN) Formal negotiations for an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) are set to begin early next year as officials on both sides continue their engagement following the conclusion of working groups in October, the UK government said on Wednesday. 

We look forward to launching negotiations early next year, a UK government spokesperson said as reported by the business standard.  India is projected to become the world's third-largest economy by 2050, and a trade deal will open huge opportunities for UK businesses to trade with India's GBP 2 trillion economy, the spokesperson said. 

A government spokesperson also dismissed a British media report indicating ruptures within the UK Cabinet over food safety standards concerns associated with the proposed UK-India FTA as completely untrue and insisted that government departments remain in lockstep towards a deal with India to open up huge opportunities for UK businesses. 

A report in the City AM' publication on Tuesday had quoted government sources at Whitehall as saying that India's food safety standards have been a cause for concern for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as the UK looks to seal a zero-tariff trade deal with the world's largest democracy.  It also referred to a senior Department for International Trade (DIT) source as saying that momentum on the UK-India trade deal has slowed down and that it is unlikely a quick deal will be struck.  

According to the DIT, preparations for the launch of negotiations for the UK-India FTA "remain underway" since the conclusion of bilateral working groups. UK International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and her counterpart, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, had also held talks during the G20 trade ministers meeting in Sorrento, Italy, in October to discuss final preparations for the launch of UK-India FTA negotiations. 

Back in May, India and the UK secured an Enhanced Trade Partnership during a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Boris Johnson, with the goal to double bilateral trade to GBP 50 billion by 2030. The FTA is seen as the next step in the bilateral engagement, with some discussion around an interim agreement ahead of a full-fledged deal.