By Caribbean News Global 
INDIA / ENGLAND – The UK and India on Thursday, January 13 launch negotiations on an ambitious Free Trade Agreement at an event in New Delhi.
International trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan will meet with her counterpart, Indian minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal, to formally start talks on a deal that could create huge benefits for both countries, the Department for International Trade, added. “India is one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing economies and a bold new deal would put UK businesses at the front of the queue to supply India’s growing middle class, forecast to increase to a quarter of a billion consumers by 2050. India is set to become the world’s third-biggest economy by 2050, with a bigger population than the US and EU combined.”
Prime minister Boris Johnson, said:
“A trade deal with India’s booming economy offers huge benefits for British businesses, workers and consumers. As we take our historic partnership with India to the next level, the UK’s independent trade policy is creating jobs, increasing wages and driving innovation across the country. The UK has world-class businesses and expertise we can rightly be proud of, from Scotch whisky distillers to financial services and cutting-edge renewable technology. We are seizing the opportunities offered in growing economies of the Indo-Pacific to cement our place on the global stage and deliver jobs and growth at home.”
The 5-star year of trade deal has the potential to “almost double UK exports to India, boost our total trade by as much as £28 billion a year by 2035, and increase wages across the UK by up to £3 billion. Investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK,” the Department for International Trade, explained. “The UK wants an agreement that slashes barriers to doing business and trading with India’s £2 trillion economy and market of 1.4 billion consumers, including cutting tariffs on exports of British-made cars and Scotch whisky.”
Additionally, “a deal with India would be a big step forward in the UK’s strategy to refocus trade on the Indo-Pacific, home to half of the world’s population and 50 percent of global economic growth. A new economic partnership with India, alongside UK membership of the massive Asia-Pacific trading bloc, CPTPP, will create a pillar in the region supporting free and fair trade,” said the government department.
A UK – India FTA would bring multiple benefits including:
- Playing a key role in our ambition to double trade with India by 2030 – supercharging the growth of our trading relationship which totalled over £23 billion in 2019.
- Slashing barriers on UK exports – Removing duties alone would increase exports to India by up to £6.8 billion, supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the UK. Important UK exports like Scotch whisky and cars currently face enormous duties of 150 and 125 percent respectively.
- Levelling up the UK – DIT analysis shows a trade agreement with India could boost the economies of all nations and regions of the UK. Almost 30,000 people in the West Midlands, for example, were employed via Indian investment in 2019, and the region could see a massive boost of up to £300 million with opportunities for manufacturers of motor vehicles and parts.
- Investment in UK jobs – International investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK and could grow with a new trade deal.
- Boost UK’s green industries – The Indian government plans to install 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and much more in the coming decades. UK’s world-leading renewables industry looks set to benefit from a deal that slashes barriers – such as import tariffs as high as 15 percent on wind turbine parts from the UK.
“A deal with India is a golden opportunity to put UK businesses at the front of the queue as the Indian economy continues to grow rapidly. By 2050 India will be the world’s third-largest economy with a middle class of almost 250 million shoppers. We want to unlock this huge new market for our great British producers and manufacturers across numerous industries from food and drink to services and automotive.
“As an independent, deal-making nation the UK is broadening our economic horizons and forging stronger partnerships with the fastest-growing economies of the world. India marks the start of our ambitious 5-star year of UK trade and will show how the deals we negotiate will boost the economies across all nations and help level up all regions of the UK,” said international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
