FTA negotiations between India and the United Kingdom were launched on 13th January 2022 and 13 rounds were held till December 2023.
India and the United Kingdom are expected to relaunch negotiations on the long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA), news agency ANI quoted sources as saying. According to the report, UK Minister for Trade Douglas Alexander is expected to visit India next week and meet Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal as part of the discussions.
According to the reports, the two leaders will discuss ways to accelerate the FTA talks. The talks have been under negotiation for a long time and both countries have already held 13 rounds of negotiations. The agreement aims to enhance trade and investment between both countries by reducing tariffs and easing market access for businesses. India and the UK have been working towards a comprehensive trade deal that could boost economic cooperation in key sectors such as goods, services, technology, and investment.
Earlier on November 22, Richard Heald, Chair of the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC), said that the FTA between India and the UK holds transformative potential for businesses and bilateral trade. He stated that the FTA will make a difference by making the communication between both countries easier.
“If you look at those companies who are not here (India), then the FTA will make a difference. It (FTA) will make it easier and more comforting to come here to India and to get embedded into the economy, be that through a joint venture or be it actually through investment directly,” he said.
On November 27, Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Vikram Doraiswami, said that the Keir Starmer government is ready to restart negotiations with India and added that the Free Trade Agreement is an “ongoing process” as they completed their internal review in July.
FTA negotiations between India and the United Kingdom were launched on 13th January 2022 and 13 rounds were held till December 2023. The 14th Round of Negotiations, which began on 10th January 2024, was underway when negotiations were paused by the UK side in May 2024 due to their elections.
With ANI inputs
