India & UK to kick off sixth round of FTA negotiations

The talks—the first formal round since July—will target a deal to cut tariffs and open opportunities for UK services such as financial and legal, making it easier for British businesses to sell to an economy set to be the world’s third largest by 2050, UK’s department for international trade said in a media release.

India and UK are set to begin the sixth round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations as UK’s international trade secretary Kemi Badenoch arrives in India today. Badenoch will meet her counterpart, Indian minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal for the first time in person, to reinvigorate talks on the ambitious bilateral trade deal.

During her visit, the trade secretary will also meet with business leaders to better understand their needs for a modern UK-India trade relationship.

Badenoch said: “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. 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. Strong growth in the Indian economy is expected to boost UK exports to India by over £9 billion by the middle of the next decade, and UK businesses are already taking advantage of the flourishing trading relationship.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)