May 30, 2022
2 mins read

‘No interim deal, but full-fledged FTA with UK by Diwali’

Last week, Goyal held “productive discussions” with his UK counterpart Anne-Marie Trevelyan on the FTA negotiations…reports Asian Lite News

A free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK may be clinched by Diwali in October without the requirement of an interim deal, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said. 

“Canada is progressing well towards an early harvest agreement. With the UK, we had agreed to do an early harvest agreement — basically, to grab the low-hanging fruit and leave the more difficult elements for the next stage and give the people of both countries the confidence that this agreement is a win-win,” the minister said. “But the way things are progressing, we’ll actually land up doing a full FTA with the UK by Diwali. I have had very good meetings on it,” he said. The minister was speaking at a curtain raiser event on Thursday evening for the annual UK-India Week by the India Global Forum, scheduled from June 27.

Goyal highlighted the “relentless work” and “engagement with stakeholders” that are needed before hammering out an FTA. “When you do a trade deal, you are crystal-gazing 30-50 years into the future, so you have to be very careful. I can’t afford to make a mistake… everybody has to be very cautious. Lot of modelling has to be done,” he said.

Last week, Goyal held “productive discussions” with his UK counterpart Anne-Marie Trevelyan on the FTA negotiations. The discussions centred round opportunities to unlock the full potential of bilateral trade and opening up new areas for businesses from both the sides.

During his India visit in April, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had pitched for wrapping up the FTA by as early as Diwali. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had then highlighted the “good progress” being made in the talks and offered to move “at the same pace and with the same commitment” with which New Delhi had hammered out trade deals with the UAE and Australia. Both India and the UK launched formal negotiations in January for the FTA, which could ultimately cover more than 90% of tariff lines.

They aim to double bilateral trade of both goods and services to about $100 billion by 2030. The India-UK trade is dominated by services, which make up about 70% of the overall annual commerce. Johnson has favoured more visas to Indian skilled IT professionals to tide over a shortage in the UK.

ALSO READ-UK accuses Russia of threatening global food security 

Previous Story

UK accuses Russia of threatening global food security  

Next Story

UK announces RAF and Royal Navy support to Qatar World

Latest from -Top News

WUC Intensifies Global Call for Uyghur Justice

WUC delegation undertook a week-long advocacy tour in Germany, where it met with Turkish NGOs and community leaders….reports Asian Lite News The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has published its monthly brief, strengthening

India Urges Bangladesh to Act on Minority Attacks

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal urged the Yunus government to probe extremist attacks on minorities….reports Asian Lite News India on Friday criticised recent comments by Bangladesh’s Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, asserting that

Jaffar Express Targeted Yet Again

blast happened at a distance of one kilometre from the Sultan Kot railway station….reports Asian Lite News At least seven injured as blast hits Quetta-bound Jaffar Express in Sindh’s Shikarpur district. Shikarpur

India to Join G20 Energy Talks in South Africa

The meeting is being hosted under South Africa’s G20 Presidency in the country’s KwaZulu Natal province…reports Asian Lite News Union Power Minister Manohar Lal will represent India at the G20 Energy Transitions
Go toTop

Don't Miss

UK-EU talks to continue on Northern Ireland protocol

The spokesperson said the talks had been constructive so far,

Labour puts up ads targeting UK PM, wife

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said she was “not going to