Round 6 of FTA negotiations: UK-India look to conclude negotiations early

New Delhi, Dec 12: The sixth round of India-UK talks for a proposed free trade agreement is being held in New Delhi on Monday, December 22. Reports said that the aim would be to conclude the talks at the earliest. The negotiations are taking place after a brief gap due to the political developments in the United Kingdom. The last round of talks had taken place on July 29.

On Monday UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch arrived in Delhi for the talks. She would meet her counterparty Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Soap in person for the first time. She would also address both teams of senior negotiators ahead of the talks. The Trade Secretary would also meet with business leaders to better understand their needs for a modern UK-India trade relationship.

"I'm here in New Delhi to kickstart round six of UK-India trade negotiations and meet my counterpart Minister Goyal in person to drive progress on this agreement. Both nations have come to the table with the very highest of ambitions and a willingness to work together towards a mutually beneficial deal. I'm excited about the opportunities we can create for British business."

"India and the UK are the 5th and 6th biggest economies in the world. We have a long shared history, and are in pole position to do a deal that will create jobs, encourage growth and boost our £29 billion trading relationship," she said.

The trade talks began on January 13 2022 and under negotiations are the trade in goods, including passenger vehicles. In a free trade agreement, two countries either reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Duty concessions are being demanded in the automobile sector by the United Kingdom.
Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal had said that the agreement is a high priority for both nations. He also said that things are progressing well and will yield good results.

Goyal said that we are all aware that it is progressing well and fast until we had a bit of a halt due to the political developments in the other country. We have a stable government in the UK now and I am already in touch with my UK counterpart. We are working together to possibly have an in-person meeting also Goyal said while adding that the two teams are engaged.

The negotiations between the two countries were launched in January with an aim of concluding talks by Diwali. The deadline was however not met due to political developments in the US. Among the 26 chapters in the agreement are goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights.

The reduction or elimination of customs duty under the agreement will help Indian labour intensive sectors such as leather, gems, textile and jewellery to boost exports in the United Kingdom market.The UK is seeking duty concessions in areas such as automobiles and Scotch whiskey.

The bilateral trade between the two countries increased $17.5 billion in 2021-22 when compared to the $13.2 billion in 2020-21. India's exports were at $10.5 billion 2021 while the imports were at $7 billion.

The main exports by India to the United Kingdom include gems and jewellery, garments and textiles, engineering goods, petroleum and petrochemical products, spices, transport equipment, metal products, machinery and instruments, marine and pharma items.

The major imports on the other hand include precious and semi-precious stones, ores and metal scraps, professional instruments, engineering goods, non-ferrous metals, chemicals and machinery.

New Delhi has attracted foreign direct investment of $1.64 billion in 2021-22 and the future was at $32 billion between April 2000 and March 2022. In the services sector, UK remains one of the largest markets in Europe for the Indian IT services.