The India-UK Free Trade Agreement will remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper, in a bid to double trade between the two huge economies in the world
UK Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. File Pic/@PiyushGoyal
The legal review of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is progressing at a brisk pace, with the deal expected to be signed by the end of July, a senior official confirmed on Tuesday, reported the PTI.
It will remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper, in a bid to double trade between the two huge economies in the world.
India and Britain, the world's fifth and sixth-largest economies, concluded the deal after three years of on-off negotiations, as per the PTI.
To accelerate the process, India’s Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal has travelled to London with his official delegation. During his two-day visit, Barthwal is scheduled to meet UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, along with other senior British officials, the news agency reported.
Negotiations for the trade agreement were formally concluded on May 6, following nearly three years of intermittent discussions. The deal aims to eliminate tariffs on exports of Indian labour-intensive goods such as leather, clothing and footwear, while also reducing duties on imports of British whisky and cars. The agreement is seen as a major step towards doubling bilateral trade to USD 120 billion by 2030, the PTI reported on Tuesday.
Once signed, the Free Trade Agreement between India and Britain will need to be ratified by the UK Parliament and approved by the Indian Cabinet before it can come into effect -- likely within a year of signing.
"The agreement is expected to be signed by the end of July. India’s legal team is currently in London conducting the legal scrubbing of the text," the official stated.
"The finalised text will be made public post-signing," the official said.
Barthwal's visit is also focused on discussing the implementation roadmap for the agreement, according to the PTI.
Earlier this month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was also in London, where he met with Jonathan Reynolds to review implementation aspects of the deal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formally invited UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to visit India.
(with PTI inputs)
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