UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s two-day visit to Mumbai has created palpable excitement, coming in the backdrop of India’s free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK.
Starmer is coming with a delegation of 125 UK CEOs, entrepreneurs, university Vice Chancellors and cultural leaders. Major names in the delegation include Rolls-Royce, British Telecom, Diageo, London Stock Exchange and British Airways. UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle and Investment Minister Jason Stockwood.
“Following the signature of the landmark UK-India trade deal in July, which will lower tariffs on British goods being imported into India, the door is now open for British businesses to turbocharge their trade with one of the fastest growing economies in the world,” said a statement by the UK government.
India and the UK signed the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement on July 24, which aims to double bilateral trade to about $130 billion by 2030 from about $56 billion at present. The agreement provides duty-free access for 99% of India’s exports to the UK, covering nearly the entire trade basket. India has reduced tariffs for several sectors in the UK including aerospace, automobiles and electric machinery.
The agreement is likely to be operationalised sometime in 2026 after it is ratified by the UK Parliament. However, in the interim, trade and industry have been looking at various aspects of the pact to assess how they can build on the opportunities it provides. This is also critical for India given the 50% tariffs imposed by the US on Indian exports.
The UK PM is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bilateral talks on October 9 to discuss the trade pact and exchange views on issues of regional and global importance. The two leaders will “take stock of progress in diverse aspects of the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in line with ‘Vision 2035’, a focussed and time bound 10-year Roadmap of programmes and initiatives in key pillars of trade and investment, technology and innovation, defence and security, climate and energy, health, education and people to people relations”, the Ministry of External Affairs had said earlier.