“Committed to trade deal with India, but need to get things right.” : Rishi Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated on Wednesday that although “these things need to be correct,” he is still committed to the trade agreement with India. The goal of the free-trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and Britain was to reach a conclusion by 24 October; however, due to political changes in the UK, the deadline was missed.

The FTA is divided into 26 chapters, which include investments, products, services, and intellectual property rights.

According to reports, the commerce ministry has set an internal target date of March 2023 for the conclusion of the trade agreement negotiations.

Customs tax reductions or eliminations made possible by the accord will aid India’s labor-intensive industries, like textiles, leather, gems, and jewellery, in growing their exports to the UK. Britain is requesting reductions in taxes on products including Scotch whiskey and cars.

Five rounds of negotiations between the representatives of the two countries have reportedly already been concluded as of July.

India and Britain’s bilateral trade climbed from $13.2 billion in 2020–21 to $17.5 billion in 2021–22. In 2021–22, India’s exports were $10.5 billion while its imports were $7 billion.

Regarding the trade agreements between the US and the UK Sunak expressed his confidence that the United States and the United Kingdom could strengthen their economic ties at a G20 conference, but he said that he and US Vice President Joe Biden had not specifically discussed a trade agreement.