New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) The India-UK negotiations on a free trade deal (FTA) would start this autumn, the UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said on Tuesday. Truss said the new trade agreement was “a win-win for both countries”.
The agreement would represent “the immediate gains we can get for both countries driving jobs and growth here in Britain and in India,” she said.
“It’s about helping India with the immediate COVID crisis but also helping India build back better after the COVID crisis,” Truss told Britain’s Sky News.
She said negotiations on a full free trade agreement with India would begin in the autumn, with a view to the talks being completed “as soon as possible”.
“We’ll be looking for early wins that we can gain for both countries,” she added.
“For example there are very high tariffs on cars into India and products like whisky into India – we want to see those tariffs lowered or removed to benefit industries here in Britain.
“And, similarly, there are products from India that we want to see here in the UK.
“India is the world’s largest democracy, it’s a rapidly growing economy. Currently our trade is £24bn – we think we can double that by 2030.
This is where Britain needs to be, we need to be trading with those fast-growing parts of the world to the benefits of British people right across the country.”
