By oneOfficial communiquépublished on 18 November on the British government website, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that talks for a free trade agreement with India would resume in the new year. The decision was taken on the sidelines of the G20 summit, which took place in Brazil on 18 and 19 November, at which the British Prime Minister met with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, who was re-elected last June for a third term at the helm of his country.

Following Brexit, negotiations for a free trade agreement between London and New Dehli began in January 2022 (cf.United Kingdom / India: negotiations for a trade agreement) and were suspended in March 2024, after eleven rounds of discussions, due to crucial elections in both countries. There were still friction points concerning, inter alia, high tariffs on British whisky for sale in India, as well as the number of visas claimed by New Delhi for Indian students and businesses. With a middle class of nearly 250 million buyers, India, the world's most populous country and the fifth largest global economic power, attracts the lusts of many countries.

Trade between India and the United Kingdom amounted to £42 billion (over €50 billion) for the year from June 2023 to June 2024. British exports to India are estimated at 16.6 billion pounds (almost 20 billion euros).

Further negotiations were initiated by London to strengthen international partnerships, including with Switzerland, South Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The United Kingdom should also join the CPTPP, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on 15 December (cf.Trans-Pacific Agreement: entry into force in Chile and United Kingdom candidature).

Editor(s):Claire BEDOUIN

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Source(s): Gov.uk