Talk on a free trade agreement between India and the United Kingdom resumed today after a months-long gap. UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi in this regard.

Negotiations on the mega deal, which will significantly benefit both nations, is at an advanced stage. The agreement being worked upon aims to triple India-UK bilateral trade within a span of 10 years. It currently stands at $20 billion annually.

Calling the possible agreement “pathbreaking”, Mr Goyal said that it has the “potential to rapidly increase our current $20 billion bilateral trade in merchandise to probably two or three times within the next 10 years”. He however, did not commit to a timeline or date by when such an agreement will be finalised, saying that negotiations are at an advanced stage, and there is nothing like “too early or too late” for such a good agreement since the benefits will last for the long-term future of citizens of both nations.

“One has to crystal gaze may be 20-30-50 years into the future and make a robust agreement which is a win-win situation for both sides and therefore neither should we rush into things, but it’s always to conclude fast. So we will have speed but not haste,” he added.

Mr Reynolds echoed Mr Goyal’s remarks, calling the India-UK FTA “a top priority” of the UK. “Such agreements are about the long-term future,” he added.

A joint statement after the meeting between the two ministers stated that “Today, the Republic of India and the United Kingdom (UK) have resumed negotiations towards a trade deal between our two countries. Both sides have agreed to resume talks towards a balanced, mutually beneficial and a forward-looking deal that delivers mutual growth and builds on the strengths of the two complementary economies.”

“The strengthening of the trading relationship has the potential to unlock opportunities for business and consumers across both nations and build further on the already deep ties,” it added.

After the meeting Mr Goyal said that India and the UK held negotiations on three different fronts – the Free Trade Agreement or FTA, the Bilateral Investment Treaty or BIT, and a Double Contribution Convention Agreement. “All three are in parallel and conjoint with each other,” he said.

On a question about migration, Mr Goyal said “immigration has never been a part of trade negotiations anywhere in the word and India has never ever discussed immigration in any FTA talks.”

Mr Reynolds quickly added to this by saying that “UK welcomes the huge and important relationship we have with people coming from India to UK whether to study, whether to be part of the businesses and obviously business mobility is a separate issue to immigration.”

The government-to-government free trade agreement talks between India and the UK began on January 13, 2022. Typically, as the name suggests, a free trade pact between nations either eliminates or greatly reduces taxes or customs duties on maximum goods traded between the two nations.

The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to $21.34 billion in 2023-24 from $20.36 billion in 2022-23. The United Kingdom is India’s sixth largest investor with India having received $35.3 billion FDI during April 2000 and September 2024.

(Inputs from PTI)