India-UK FTA: 6th round of talks between trade ministers of the two countries

Badenoch is in India to kickstart the sixth round of FTA negotiations with his Indian counterpart. Negotiations, which began in January this year, missed the Diwali deadline due to the economic and political crisis in the UK, which is now stabilizing.

The final talks between the two countries were held in July.

“The two ministers held bilateral talks and also met with industry representatives from both sides. The Indian side said it was committed to realizing the FTA in the spirit of coordinating each other’s sensitivities,” the official said. said.

This is the first debate since British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took office in October.

The FTA has about 26 chapters, covering trade in goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights. At least 16 chapters have already been closed, but some sensitive issues have not yet been discussed.

In November, Rishi Sunak reiterated his commitment to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India as part of the UK’s broader focus on strengthening its ties with the Indo-Pacific region.

“By 2050, the Indo-Pacific will account for more than half of global growth, compared to just a quarter of Europe and North America combined. We are also pursuing a new FTA with India and a partnership with Indonesia,” he added.

The free trade agreement is intended to cover 90% of trade tariffs between the two countries. The FTA aims to double bilateral trade to about $100 billion by 2030. Trade between the two countries is currently dominated by services, which account for almost 70% of total trade.

Bilateral trade between the two countries increased to US$17.5 billion in 2021-22 compared to US$13.2 billion in 2020-21. In 2021-2022, India’s exports will be worth $10.5 billion and its imports will be $7 billion.

With input from PTI