Both India and UK are looking at ambitious trade deals: Government official

NEW DELHI:   Both India and the UK are not in a hurry to complete the free trade talks as both countries are bargaining hard to ensure each gets the best deal, sources in the government said. “In UK FTA (free trade agreement), both the countries are looking at an ambitious deal, which is beneficial to both the countries and we are not binding ourselves to any timelines as such,” says a government source who is closely associated with the trade talks.

“What we are saying is that the deal should be fruitful to both the countries and good for the stakeholders of both the countries,” he added. According to the sources, the progress in talks is good, and both countries had a very high-level meeting on the sidelines of the Jaipur trade and investment ministers meeting.

Both governments are trying to close some prickly issues early. These issues include rules of origin, bilateral investment treaties, and business mobility.

The Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) talks are being led by the Department of Economic Affairs, and Ministry of Finance, separately, and it is expected that the BIT talks will be closed along with the FTA negotiations.
Business mobility is an issue concerning visa liberalisation, and the issue has been a major bone of contention between the two countries during their FTA talks. UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch last month said that visas and visa liberalisation don’t come within free trade agreement, but business mobility comes into the trade framework. She said that both countries are actively talking on business mobility and the Bilateral Investment Treaty.

“Towards the end of the deal, it is the difficult issues which have to be closed,” said a government source.
The UK-India FTA negotiations began in January 2022, and they cover 26 policy areas/chapters. So far, 12 rounds of talks have been completed and 19 chapters have been closed.