Here's what's getting cheaper for consumers, thanks to the India-UK trade deal

 The UK-India free trade agreement, which came into effect on July 15, is expected to lead to significant gains for consumers looking to buy premium food items, drinks, and automobiles as well as exporters in several labour-intensive sectors like clothing, textiles, and footwear, as well as food products like grapes and where tariff rates are currently high as both countries eliminate tariffs on a range of products.   For Indian consumers, India has cut tariffs on several goods imported from the UK, including not only automobiles and alcohol but also food items such as salmon, lamb, chocolate, soft drinks, and cosmetics. The tariff rates will be cut over a period of time and will be based on sector-specific quotas to ensure the domestic industry continues to be protected.

Must Watch: India’s Commerce Secretary: UK Deal Fastest, Exporters Gain Major Advantage   For instance, in the case of alcoholic beverages such as cider, mead, sake, brandy, bourbon, rum, gin, vodka, liqueurs, and tequila, the tariff rate will fall to 110% in Year One from 150% and gradually come down to 75% by Year 10 of the agreement.   The lower tariffs may also rub off on domestic producers who may lower prices to compete with foreign products. But the final pass-through of the lower tariffs will also depend on market forces and decisions by companies on how much of a price cut should be undertaken.   For India, there are more gains from the Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA) with the UK. While India has offered zero tariff on 64% of UK exports, which will gradually rise to 85% of goods, the UK has eliminated duties on 99% of Indian goods from Day 1.

Don't Miss: UK-India FTA goes live: From whisky to premium cars, what gets cheaper and which Indian sectors gain   While the UK imported goods worth $949 billion from across the world in FY26, India’s imports to the UK were just $25.12 billion. The commerce department has, in fact, highlighted the huge market and scope for India’s exports to the US and has identified products that are amongst the top exports from India but have little market in the UK as of now. With the trade deal in place and lower tariffs, these products have a huge potential to be exported to the UK, they note.   These include products like apparel items, synthetic and knitted trousers for men and women, women’s dresses of synthetic fibres, woollen jerseys and pullovers, tobacco cigarettes, malt extract food products, corn flakes and roasted cereal foods, fresh or chilled peppers and chillies and other vegetables, dried grapes and protein concentrates.   A report by Global Trade Research Initiative noted that the real gain from the CETA is concentrated in roughly $6 billion, or 44% of Indian exports, that previously faced UK tariffs of around 4–16%. More than half of India’s exports to the UK—around $7.5 billion, including petroleum products, medicines, Cut and polished diamonds, and aircraft parts—already enter duty-free and therefore receive little or no fresh tariff advantage.   Indian clothing, previously facing tariffs up to 12%, and textiles, facing around 8%, will largely receive zero-duty access from day one. Footwear and leather products, previously facing duties up to 16%, also gain substantially. Other beneficiaries include carpets, seafood, grapes, mangoes, chemicals, base metals, furniture, sports goods, gems and jewellery, auto components and machinery, it said.