FTA offers big benefits for British biz: Boris

New Delhi/ London: Ahead of the launch of the FTA negotiations, British Minister Boris Johnson said: "A trade deal with India's booming economy offers huge benefits for British businesses, workers and consumers. As we take our historic partnership with India to the next level, the UK's independent trade policy is creating jobs, increasing wages and driving innovation across the country."

"The UK has world-class businesses and expertise for which we can rightly be proud of, from Scotch whisky distillers to financial services and cutting-edge renewable technology. We are seizing the opportunities offered in growing economies of the Indo-Pacific to cement our place on the global stage and deliver jobs and growth at home," Johnson said in London.

The India-UK bilateral trade relationship is part of 'Roadmap 2030' announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Johnson in May 2021.

India and the UK will seek to agree a mutually beneficial agreement supporting jobs, businesses and communities in both countries.

India, UK initiate FTA negotiations

India and the UK on Thursday formally launched negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), which is expected to help double bilateral trade by 2030 and boost economic ties between the two countries. It was launched by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan here.

Goyal said that today, the terms of reference of the free trade agreement have been finalised and formally endorsed by both countries. "We are launching formal negotiations for the free trade agreement for which both teams will be proactively and regularly engaging with each other, deliberating on different aspects of our relationship and fast-tracking the interim agreement or an early harvest agreement, where we hope to capture the low hanging fruits, which will provide opportunities for businesses on both sides and help us substantially, enhancing the volume of trade in goods and services," he told reporters here.

The first round of negotiations will begin on January 17 and future rounds will take place approximately every five weeks. Both sides would strive to conclude the negotiations by December 2022. On a deadline to conclude the talks, Goyal said both the sides have agreed that they would focus initially on areas that are of mutual benefit and where there is less disagreement, for which, "we have set an aggressive timeline of the next few months…and we would be able to easily come up with a substantive agreement in the initial phase itself. "I think we are committed to concluding the negotiations in about a year's time," he added. He also noted that the endeavour of both the countries is to deliver a comprehensive, balanced, fair and equitable FTA to benefit medium and micro enterprises in India and the UK.

The agreement, Goyal said, will expand sectoral cooperation, enhance exports by addressing market access issues and removing trade restrictions. The pact would also help in boosting Indian exports of leather, textile, jewellery and processed Agri products. He added that India is also expected to register a quantum jump in the export of marine products through the recognition of 56 marine units of India. Besides, the Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on pharma could provide additional market access.