The India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) may take some more time to wrap up as some differences still remain. A second visit to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal within a week had raised hopes of a breakthrough, but no formal announcement came.
After wrapping up his visit to Brussels, the minister was back again in London on Friday and met Secretary of State for Trade and Business Jonathan Reynolds. This was their second meeting within a week.
As officials from both sides worked to resolve the final roadblocks, Goyal spent his Saturday meeting representatives of various Indian organisations and visited the International Centre for Sustainability in London. The minister has since returned to New Delhi. According to officials, the differences still remain over the wording of some of the provisions of the trade and investment agreements.
The officials who are part of the negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and social security pact Double Contribution Convention Agreement (DCCA) are having a relook at the technical issues that have cropped up, officials had said earlier.
Earlier, the announcements on finalisation of the agreements were to come through a press conference in London on Tuesday, but the last-minute issues led to its cancellation. After the UK, the minister visited Norway and Brussels. After Brussels, he returned to London on Friday night.
Goyal arrived in the UK on April 28 for two days and held extensive discussions with his counterparts. On the first day, he met UK Reynolds to advance FTA negotiations. On April 29, he met Chancellor of Exchequer Rachel Reeves. The UK’s treasury department and India’s Ministry of Finance are holding negotiations on the investment treaty.
Officials say, barring some technical issues in some of the minor provisions of the BIT and FTA, all issues related to tariff concessions in goods and professional visa issues in services have been settled.
In Oslo in Norway, Goyal met the Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide and discussed the implementation of the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA). The agreement with European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – that includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – was signed in March last year and is awaiting completion of legal formalities before it is implemented.
In Brussels, Goyal met the commissioner for trade and economic security of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic and discussed issues around the India-EU FTA and investment treaty. Both India and the EU are trying to complete their FTA negotiations by the end of the year. After talks, leaders said both sides are working to deliver a commercially meaningful trade deal that will open up markets for goods and services to businesses from both sides
India has told the EU that negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) should be equally focused on non-tariff barriers (NTB) and regulatory frameworks must be inclusive, proportionate, and avoid restricting trade.
Both India and the UK have been engaged in discussions on the FTA since January 2022.
Since the launch of India-UK FTA talks were launched 14 rounds of formal negotiations have taken place. The talks were suspended in May of 2024 as elections in both countries intervened. After elections brought the Labour Party to power, Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom Jonathan Reynolds visited New Delhi in March to resume discussions.
In FTA, while the UK is asking for lower duties on automobiles, electric vehicles, whiskey and national treatment for its services sector in the FTA. India is seeking greater access to its labour-intensive manufacturing sector in the UK market, apart from greater flexibility in the grant of visas to its service professionals. In the agriculture sector, India has conveyed its sensitivities to the UK. According to officials, many sensitive areas in the negotiations have already been resolved.
The UK is the fourth biggest export market for India with shipments growing 12.0% on year to $ 14.5 billion in 2024-25.
