British Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

A trade deal being negotiated with India is “possible” to be concluded before a general election in the country but Britain does not want to use that as a deadline, U.K. Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch has said.

The Minister in charge of signing off on the free trade agreement (FTA), now in its 14th round of negotiations, pointed to India’s “protectionist economy” in comparison with the U.K.’s liberalised regime as one of the factors behind the long-drawn discussions.

Ms. Badenoch, who was speaking during a Global Trade conference at the think tank Chatham House on Thursday, stressed that she wanted to ensure a “commercially meaningful” pact as opposed to just a pre-election picture opportunity.

“India is still very protectionist where we are very, very liberalised,” claimed Ms. Badenoch.

“I am not interested in just taking a picture and moving on. It has to be something that is commercially meaningful. People need to be able to say ‘ah now I can do this’, like we had with our Australia agreement or with Japan for example,” she said, referring to FTAs with the two major economies.

On the timeline for getting to the finishing line with the talks with India, she added: “We can actually sign an agreement before the Indian election. I suspect that that is not necessarily going to be the case because I don’t want to use any election as a deadline.”

“It is possible that that will be done but I am very resistant to deadlines being set on trade negotiations because it runs down the clock. It is very possible that we can sign but I am not using it as a deadline for the work that I am carrying out basically.”

India and the U.K. have been negotiating an FTA since January 2022 to significantly enhance the GBP 36-billion bilateral trading partnership. The 13th round of talks concluded on December 15 last year, with both sides hopeful that the ongoing fourteenth round will end in an agreement.

The U.K. wants India to significantly reduce tariffs on U.K. exports such as food, cars and whisky that can currently be as high as 150%. India in turn is concerned over the fairness of rules applied to Indian workers temporarily transferred to the U.K. on business visas who have to pay national insurance, despite not being eligible for U.K. pensions or social security benefits.

In her keynote address at the trade conference, Ms. Badenoch noted: “I have to strike the right balance between embracing the import of goods from developing countries to help them grow with the need to maintain the high standards on quality and safety which the British people rightly expect. We make choices.”

“Our free trade agreements are helping us make the right choices because they are all about diversification and resilience. That is what the Indo-Pacific tilt is about, but we need to make sure that the facts are out there.”

With both India and the U.K. set for a general election this year, signing off on a trade agreement has taken on particular urgency before leaders on both sides get into campaign mode.

With the negotiations for the proposed India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) reaching its last leg, a high-level Indian official delegation is heading for London to iron out differences on remaining issues, sources said on February 20.

The chief negotiators of both countries would hold negotiations on different issues such as goods, services, and rules of origin. The visit assumes significance as last week, the Prime Minister’s Office has reviewed the progress of the talks.

Sources said that the attempt of this visit would be to close the remaining issues.

India and the UK launched the talks for a free-trade agreement (FTA) in January 2022. So far 13 rounds of talks have been completed. The 14th round started last month. Talks are also progressing on the proposed bilateral investment treaty (BIT).

There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights.

The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duty. The UK is seeking cuts in import duties on goods like scotch whiskey, electric vehicles, lamb meat, chocolates and certain confectionary items. The country is also looking for more opportunities for UK services in Indian markets in segments like telecommunications, legal and financial services (banking and insurance).

The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to $20.36 billion in 2022-23 from $17.5 billion in 2021-22.

Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry. File.
| Photo Credit: Kamal Narang

Union Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal is heading for a two-day visit to London, starting Monday, to take forward negotiations for bilateral trade pacts with the United Kingdom and the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc.

Mr. Goyal will engage in high-level meetings with his U.K. counterparts, including the Secretary of State for International Trade, as well as representatives from various sectors and industries. U.K.’s Minister for International Trade Nigel Huddleston said last week that half of the chapters in the proposed bilateral trade agreement had been worked out and concluded already.

“These meetings will provide an opportunity to discuss the key priorities and objectives of the Free Trade Agreement [FTA] negotiations, with a focus on addressing trade barriers, promoting investments, and fostering greater cooperation in areas such as technology, innovation, and intellectual property rights,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

Meetings are also scheduled with ministers from the EFTA member-countries — Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein — to assess the progress made in the ongoing negotiations of a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA). The pact will strive to enhance trade and economic cooperation between India and the EFTA member-countries, fostering an environment conducive to increased investments, reduced trade barriers, and greater market access.