India, UK boosting trade ties with 'early harvest deal' followed by comprehensive FTA

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal spoke with the British Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss on Monday and discussed ways to strengthen the India-UK trade partnership. Goyal said that both the nations are boosting business and trade connections by working on an early harvest agreement, which would be followed by a complete detailed free trade agreement (FTA). 

'UK and India in good spot as the trade dynamics are shaping up'

As per PTI, under this FTA, an agreement would provide a significant boost to UK exporters by cutting tariffs, simplifying regulation, and increasing bilateral trade, which is estimated around 23 billion Pounds in 2019. Last week at a City of London Corporation event, British Secretary of State for International Trade Truss highlighted the UK-India economic cooperation, stating that she sees the UK and India in a good spot as the trade dynamics are shaping up.  

She went on to say that, both the nations are considering a comprehensive trade deal that would include all from financial services to legal services to digital and information, as well as commodities and agriculture. She even added that there is a high chance that "we can reach an early deal in which we will decrease tariffs on both ends and see more products moving among the two countries". 

India-UK strong bilateral ties in various sectors

During the 11th Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) between the UK and India on 2 September, Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman and UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled new initiatives to increase investments and combat climate change. According to an official release, the UK administration has announced a USD 1.2 billion deal for the public and private investment for green projects and renewable energy, as well as the establishment of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India collaboration. 

India and the United Kingdom have strong bilateral ties in a variety of sectors. Economic connections between India and the United Kingdom are crucial since they are two of the global top seven economies, with a combined GDP of nearly USD 5 trillion. According to a statement published earlier by the Finance Ministry, India-UK trade and commerce has over doubled since the first Economic and Financial Dialogue in 2007, with bilateral investment sustaining more than half a million employees in both nations.  

(With inputs from PTI)

(Image: Twitter/ @piyushgoyal)