India is soon going to launch free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the United Kingdom, which is going to be a bilateral agreement between the two nations now that United Kingdom is out of the European Union (EU)
Britain has been in talks with India for a one on one bilateral trading agreement since 2016 after United Kingdom opted out to leave the European Union in the month of June in 2016. Though India also wanted to launch the free trade agreement with the United Kingdom, Indian was waiting for this as the Brexit process was going to completed by the month of December 2020. India mentioned this in the year 2018 when he visited then Prime Minister Theresa may I the month of January. Not just that India also wanted to see and understand the access of United Kingdom in the vast European market after the exit from European Union.
Now that we are close to the date it seems like both the nations are going to start their talks on the possible Free Trade agreement. Both the sides have decided to formally launch the talks.
India is one of the key markets the Boris Johnson government hopes to reach a free trade agreement after the current Brexit transition period ends on December 31. Talks on such a pact are expected to begin in early 2021. India is also the second biggest investor in United Kingdom.
Both the nations Commerce and Industry ministers and International Trade Secretaries will discuss the trade ministerial talk by the end of this month. (July 2020)
India and United Kingdom FTA will be discussed by Piyush Goyal and Liz Truss by the end of July and this is going to be the first interaction between both the delegates.
This discussion was finalized on Thursday. Harsh V Shringla who is the foreign secretary of India and Philip Barton who is the new British High Commissioner to India discussed the decision of talks and also the acceleration of strategic and Defence talks between both India and UK. In the same meeting both Harsh Shringla and Philip Barton discussed the India and China standoff at the border that has been going on for the past couple of weeks. The ongoing tension between India and China has become a global discussion and nations have been taking sides. The Line of Action Control in Galwan Valley at eastern Ladakh became a blood bath on the 15th of June 2020 when the Chinese PLA troops attacked the Indian Army killing 20 of our Indian soldiers. United Kingdom is the permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and India was appointed as a temporary member this year. United Kingdom has been one of the strategic partners of India for a long time.
During the virtual meeting between Shringla and Barton, the two sides also discussed the ongoing border standoff in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the troops of India and China
In the meeting between the foreign secretaries of India and UK, India discussed the situation from the start explaining how both the countries, India and China had a telephonic conversation of disengagement. The conversation was between National Security Advisor of India and Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor.
Apart from the United Kingdom, India has also discussed the standoff with countries like United States, Russia, Australia, Germany, France and Japan who are all India’s strategic partners.
India and the UK were involved in discussing a preferential trading arrangement under the proposed India-EU FTA, the talks for which are presently in deep freeze.
The global Indian week which was on Friday was also attended by the Trade Secretary of UK, Truss who mentioned that UK is looking forward to working closely with India in the near future and also that she is looking forward to have an FTA based on Free and fair trade with India. This Global India week meeting was held virtually and many delegates from around the word attended. Truss also acknowledged the fact that India supplied paracetamol drugs to them at the peak of Covid-19 infections.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who also attended the global Indian week said that both Britain and India will be energetic champions of free trade, to boost small businesses, to cut the cost of living for consumers and to create the jobs of the future.
By Deepika Agarwal
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