India Welcomes UK's Proposal to Resume Free Trade Talks in Early 2025

Previously in this year, the India-UK FTA negotiations got rescheduled a couple of times due to the general elections in both countries in 2024.

Pushpita Dey

Updated on: 20 November 2024 12:49 pm

India-UK FTA talks to start by early 2025, confirm both the government

A day after the British Prime Minister assured the Indian government that negotiations for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between India and the UK would resume, the Indian government welcomed the move to hold FTA talks in the new year. UK Prime Minister H.E. Sir Keir Starmer announced that trade talks with India will relaunch in the new year, following his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit in Brazil.

"The dates for the Free Trade talks in early 2025 would be finalized through diplomatic channels at an early date. The FTA talks would resume the discussions from the progress achieved previously and seek to bridge the gaps for expeditiously closing the trade deal," said the Department of Commerce in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Had an extremely productive meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Rio de Janeiro. For India, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the UK is of immense priority. In the coming years, we are eager to work closely in areas such as technology, green energy, security,… pic.twitter.com/eJk6hBnDJl
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2024

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A very productive meeting with Prime Minister @NarendraModi.

Yesterday we announced plans to relaunch UK-India trade talks.

A new trade deal will support jobs and prosperity in the UK – and represent a step forward in our mission to deliver growth and opportunity across the… pic.twitter.com/8RHUshApdu
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 19, 2024

Previously, the FTA negotiations got rescheduled a couple of times due to the general elections in both countries in 2024.

In May 2021, both nations decided to initiate formal discussions on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), following the UK's departure from the European Union (Brexit) and its objective of creating new trade agreements with countries outside the EU. These negotiations were viewed as a way to strengthen economic relations between India and the UK, concentrating on areas such as trade in goods and services, investment, and collaboration in sectors like technology and green energy. The talks advanced through 2021 and 2022, culminating in a "framework agreement" for the FTA, with the aim of achieving a comprehensive agreement by the close of 2023.

To boost the trade between the countries, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also cautioned the Indian industry against their reluctance to import duty concessions. He stressed the fact that high import duties might adversely impact the proposed FTAs with the UK and EU.

“The industry wants access to international markets, but whichever industry we speak to, they seek protection. Those goods shouldn’t come into India. Then how can we do FTAs with the UK and EU? The industry isn’t in favour of (India giving) duty concessions but wants zero duty on everything. Is this how FTAs are done? What is the cooperation from your side?” Goyal had said.