UK Restarting India FTA Talks: Boosting Trade & Jobs

London, Jul 29 (PTI) The process of getting negotiating teams back in the room will kick-start soon to deliver a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, the UK’s newly elected Labour government announced on Monday as it set out its trading priorities.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds spelt out his department’s approach to international trade deals, which he said will put economic growth at the heart of the negotiations to achieve high-quality pacts that give British businesses access to international markets and boost jobs.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said it also plans to publish a trade strategy which aligns with the government’s industrial strategy, enhances economic security and supports net zero ambitions.

“Boosting trade abroad is essential to deliver a strong economy at home. That’s why I’ve wasted no time taking stock of progress and getting ready to press on with trade talks with our international partners,” said Reynolds.

“From the Gulf to India, our trade programme is ambitious and plays to the UK’s strengths to give British businesses access to some of the most exciting economies in the world. Our teams will be entering negotiating rooms as soon as possible, laser-focused on creating new opportunities for UK firms so they can support jobs across the country and deliver the growth we desperately need,” he said.

India and the UK began negotiating an FTA in January 2022 under the then Conservative Party government and 13 rounds of negotiations have been completed since then to enhance the GBP 38.1 billion a year bilateral partnership. Reynolds has now set the tone for the new Labour government’s plans to not only sign off on a deal, but also to carry on the process from where it was left off in the fourteenth round of discussions amid general elections in both countries.

“India, with which the UK is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement and Bilateral Investment Treaty, is projected to be the world’s third largest economy by 2027. A trade deal would give UK businesses better access to its burgeoning market of middle-class consumers, projected to grow to over a quarter of a billion consumers by 2050,” notes the DBT.

The announcement follows Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s visit to India last week to discuss economic and global security.

Chairman of Tata Sons Natarajan Chandrasekaran said in a statement: “I am delighted that the new government has moved so quickly to restart trade negotiations with India.

“As one of the largest international investors in the UK, the Tata Group supports any action that strengthens the British economy. And as two of the world’s greatest trading nations with deep historical ties, India and the UK should be close economic partners, to the benefit of the citizens and businesses of both countries.”

Besides India, the DBT wants to deliver trade deals with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey. Monday’s announcement is intended to kick-start the process of getting negotiators “back into the room with counterparts as soon as possible”, with the first round of trade talks under the new British government expected to take place during the autumn period which begins towards the end of August.

The DBT said its trade programme aims to deliver deals that will benefit the UK economy and boost trade with some of the most dynamic economies in the world.

Meanwhile, the department stressed that FTAs are not the only tool to drive economic growth through trade, with a proposed trade strategy aimed at helping reset the UK’s relationship with the European Union (EU) to support more small businesses to export by “tearing down” unnecessary barriers to trade and jobs.

According to the DBT, UK exports totalled GBP 855 billion as the world’s fourth-largest exporter in 2022 and high-quality British goods and services continue to be admired globally and the government is committed to using every lever available to help British businesses sell around the world.