India-UK Free Trade Pact Explained: How The Deal Benefit Indians (Photo on X@narendramodi)
London, United Kingdom: On Thursday, India and the United Kingdom singed a historic Free Trade Agreement. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and British Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds inked the pact in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The trade deal is being viewed as a landmark move between the two countries and is expected to boost multi-billion dollar annual bilateral trade.
The pact, expected to boost trade including export and imports, reportedly took three years to reach since deliberations were started on it. Through the pact, cars and whisky in the UK will be cheaper to export to India while the Indian textiles and jewellery will be cheaper to export to the UK, as per a report by BCC.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deal a blueprint for the shared prosperity. As per reports, the farmers in India are one of the major beneficiaries of the pact, as the country’s agricultural and processed food products will now enjoy duty-free access to British markets.
As per the deal, the British markets will now open up to Indian farm producers, helping farmers enjoy better benefits. Products such as turmeric, pepper and cardamom, and processed products like mango pulp, pickles, and pulses, will get duty-free access to the UK, boosting farmers’ market reach and helping them reap huge profit margins.
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The pact is also expected to benefit India’s fisheries sector, as exports of shrimp, tuna, fishmeal, and feeds, which currently have duties between 4.2 per cent to 8.5 per cent in the UK, will now be able to access the British market duty-free. In addition, other products such as leather, footwear and clothing will also be easier to export to the UK.
Both the countries would get boost in trade, businesses and opportunities while contributing to rise in wages and living standards. Whiskey distillers in Scotland would also get boost as the product, a favourite in India, will be cheaper to export to India under the new pact.
