India Signs Free Trade Deal With UK
India-West News Desk
NEW DELHI – While India’s talks with the Trump administration has been ongoing with many sticking points, India and the United Kingdom have cemented a “historic” Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a landmark pact projected to inject $34 billion into annual bilateral trade and create substantial opportunities across various sectors for both nations. The agreement, signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, extends beyond economic partnership, serving as a “blueprint for shared prosperity,” as stated by Modi in a joint press statement in London.
The FTA provides significant advantages for India’s agricultural sector, granting preferential access to the UK’s $37.5 billion market while safeguarding India’s sensitive sectors such as dairy, vegetables, apples, cooking oils, and oats.
Farmers and rural exporters stand to gain considerably, with zero duty on processed foods, a stark reduction from previous tariffs of up to 70 percent. The pact also opens up the UK’s $5.4 billion marine products market for Indian fishermen, with import duties on these items set to drop to zero from an earlier high of 20 percent.
Beyond primary industries, the agreement is poised to boost job creation and enhance wages for Indian youth in services sectors like IT, finance, and consultancy. Duty-free access to the UK’s $238 billion market is expected to create new career avenues in textiles, leather, and gems exports, along with opportunities in education and architecture services.
A key aspect of the FTA is its focus on streamlining business operations. The agreement offers simplified customs procedures, ensures equal treatment for businesses, and provides procurement access, allowing Indian MSMEs to bid for UK government contracts.
The services sector will also benefit from greater visa clarity for skilled Indian professionals, with up to 1,800 Indian chefs, yoga instructors, and classical musicians gaining temporary mobility access to the UK. Furthermore, approximately 75,000 Indian workers in the UK will be exempt from social security contributions for three years, a significant relief that will be further solidified by the newly agreed Double Contributions Convention. The DCC ensures that employees moving between the two countries will only pay social security contributions in one country at a time, promoting ease and reducing the cost of doing business.
The FTA also slashes import duties on major Indian export categories to the UK: textiles and clothing will see duties drop from up to 12 percent to zero, chemicals from 8 percent to zero, and base metals from 10 percent to zero, giving a competitive edge to these labor-intensive sectors.
In addition to the economic accord, both leaders announced the launch of the India-UK Vision 2035, a roadmap for a robust partnership in technology, defense, climate, education, and people-to-people connections.
In the education sector, six UK universities are set to open campuses in India, following the recent inauguration of South Hampton University’s campus in Gurugram. (IANS)
