India-UK launch negotiations for ambitious FTA

Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and U.K. Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan launched negotiations for an ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA) recently. Mr. Goyal said the negotiations are expected to be completed within a year.

Key Highlights

• A joint statement issued after the launch of the negotiations referred to the Roadmap 2030 announced by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Boris Johnson in May 2021. The Roadmap 2030 aimed at doubling bilateral trade in the next decade. 

• The joint statement clarified that both sides will consider the option of an “Interim Agreement” while conducting the negotiation for a comprehensive agreement.

• The interim agreement is increasingly appearing as part of the trade negotiation tactics followed by India in recent months. A similar agreement is in the works with Australia which is also aiming for a comprehensive FTA with India.

• The joint statement announced that the first round of negotiations will begin on January 17 and the next rounds will take place around every five weeks. 

• The negotiations were welcomed by the UK India Business Council which remarked that India is expected to become the third largest economy in the world by 2030. 

SOURCE: The Hindu

Download as PDF