India-UK FTA: UK govt positive on concluding deal

The new Labour Party government in the UK has been positive on continuing negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA) with India, but the deal could take some time in understanding the current discussions.

“Since there has been a change of government in the UK, the new government will look at the current FTA position and based on that the negotiations will start,” said sources familiar with the matter, adding that the Labour Party had been keen on concluding the FTA talks with India.

“They may take some time before they come to use but there is an eagerness for them to come to India,” said the source.

Before the elections in both India and the UK, the two countries are understood to have been quite close to closing various pending issues under the FTA. Post the Labour Party’s win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken with the new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. According to an official statement, the two leaders agreed to work towards early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-UK Free Trade Agreement.

Sources said the FTA talks will resume soon but a date has not been finalised for the next round of talks as of now.

India and the UK launched negotiations for a free trade agreement in January 2022 and 14 rounds of negotiations have already been held. Both countries have been keen on a successful conclusion to the negotiations and Indian officials have in the past indicated that there are very few pending issues left to be addressed. Agreement has been reached on as many as 19 of the 26 proposed chapters in the FTA.