London: It came as the Lord Mayor of London hosted a first-of-its-kind “Indian Century” dinner at Mansion House in London on Thursday evening, where he expressed his optimism over the FTA with senior executives and stakeholders in the bilateral partnership.
Trade and industry experts in the UK have said that all indications are pointing towards an India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) being completed very soon, following significant progress made during Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visit to the UK.
Earlier this week, Goyal held talks with his UK counterpart, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to push forward the FTA – aimed at significantly reducing customs duties on goods traded between the nations and easing norms for promoting trade in services and bilateral investments.
The key asks on the Indian side include greater access for its skilled professionals, with the UK seeking a significant cut in import duties and more opportunities for its services sector.
“Indian tariffs on items like Scottish whisky are far too high and need to come down; the hope is that the 150 per cent will come down to something like 50 per cent, which will be a big improvement, and cars from 100 per cent coming down to much lower level,” said Bilimoria, who has been tracking the deal since it was launched under the previous Conservative Party government in January 2022 and then relaunched by the Keir Starmer led Labour administration this February.
“From the Indian side, it’s not fair that an Indian worker will pay taxes and National Insurance here but if they go back to India, they don’t see any benefits of that… these things are all resolvable, so I’m hoping that we’ll have a good outcome for all sides,” he added.
“We welcome the progress that is being made on securing a Free Trade Agreement between our nations… progress driven forward by Commerce Minster Piyush Goyal’s visit to London this week,” said Alderman Alaistair King, the ambassador for the financial hub of the City of London as its Lord Mayor.
“Last year alone, our trading relationship was worth GBP 42 billion and supported over 600,000 jobs, with India now representing the United Kingdom’s fastest growing export market for services – where we have seen an incredible increase in trade of over 260 per cent over the last 10 years,” he said.
As the minister returned to London following a Europe tour on Friday to continue his discussions, there was a growing sense that the few remaining sticking points in the negotiations are on course to be ironed out.
The “Indian Century” dinner, named after a book by the same name penned by British Indian businessman Dinesh Dhamija, also heard from the High Commissioner of India to the UK Vikram Doraiswami on the strength of the two-way investments and Lord Karan Bilimoria, co-chair of the India All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and chair of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UK.
“All the indications I’m getting are that it (trade deal) will be very soon that it will be announced,” said Bilimoria.
“I have a feeling it is imminent and bilateral trade, I believe, will double to 80 billion pounds within five years once the FTA is signed,” he said.
As a long-standing champion of closer India-UK collaborations, the founder of Cobra Beer said there was overwhelming support in the room for both countries to take the lead on digital trade and in championing the multilateral rules-based system at a time of global turmoil.
“It’s very important that we continue to work together as two great trading nations to champion free trade,” he said.
According to reports, nearly all of the 26 chapters that make up the agreement are now closed leaving only last mile hurdles around some tax related matters.
Disclaimer: This story is from the syndicated feed. Nothing has been changed except the headline.
