UK-India Business Council upbeat as FTA talks underway

New Delhi: The UK-India Business Council on Tuesday welcomed the restart of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations during UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds’ visit to India, which includes two days of meetings with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his team.

India and the UK resumed the negotiations on Monday.

This is an important and positive development. It is worth noting that UK-India bilateral trade and investment are already growing. The total trade in goods and services grew by 10 per cent to reach 42 billion pounds in the four quarters to the end of Q2-2024. This level of trade has almost doubled from before the pandemic in 2019, when the UK-India trade was 24.1 billion pounds, according to a UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) statement.

The UK and India have concluded 13 rounds of the bilateral FTA negotiation, with the 14th round being paused due to the UK’s general elections in May 2024. Substantial progress has been made since negotiations were first launched in 2022. The UK and India are focused on substantially deepening bilateral trade and the investment tide, with clear political will to close a mutually beneficial win-win deal, the statement said.

UKIBC applauded the continued commitment visible from both sides reaffirming at the highest levels the priority status being accorded to this partnership.

Richard Heald, Chair, the UK-India Business Council, said, “The visit of Secretary of State Jonathan Reynolds reaffirms the UK government’s commitment to step up to a more ambitious and future-focused trade and investment relationship with India.”