India and UK are ready to start a dialog on Free Trade Agreement by November and aim to lock an interim deal by March. The UK-India trade deal will comprise both goods and services.
The decision to start negotiations on FTA with the UK was taken at a meeting between Piyush Goyal minister of commerce & industry and his British counterpart Elizabeth Truss. According to the official statement “The proposed FTA between India and the UK is expected to unlock extraordinary business opportunities and generate jobs. Both sides have renewed their commitment to boosting trade in a manner which benefits all,”
The official statement says that the interim agreement will focus largely on goods while certain services may get included in the agreement. “If necessary, we may also explore signing a few mutual recognition agreements in selective services like nursing and architecture services,”
After Brexit Britain is now negotiating a trade agreement with various countries. Britain is now intent to ensure a sufficient market for its businesses. India is the 14th largest trading partner of Britain. Trade between these two countries was 13 billion dollars last year. With exports of 8.2 billion dollars, India enjoys a trade surplus of over $3 billion while trading with Britain. After UK free trade agreement with India, it is expected that India and UK relation which is already good, will enhance even more. On 8 May 2021, the leaders of both EU and Indian have decided to resume the negotiation for an India-European union free trade agreement.
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