UK Cars, Scotch Whisky, Likely to Become Cheaper
India and Britain are moving together to push a pact that could double the bilateral trade by the year 2030 by bringing down the tariffs and increasing the access to both markets. The trade talks are expected to be concluded by the year end, before the election fever could set in, officials from both the countries said, the Business Standard has reported.
As for more on this, New Delhi has agreed to bring down the tariffs on cars and scotch whisky, the Britain has agreed to relax some of the rules to visa for Indian professionals, an official who preferred anonymity said. A point to be noted here is that, immigration being a very politically sensitive issue for Britain, there are views that any relaxation on immigration rules could be limited in nature. The Prime Ministers of both the nations are expected to have a face-to-face opportunity to further discuss the deal at a Group 20 summit, next month at New Delhi.
Both the countries have taken an accommodative stance upon each other’s points of contention, as Britain has shown willingness to engage India’s standards on environment protections and labour, which is a major Indian demand and concern, given the levels of economic development and issues involving its micro, small- and medium-sized firms.
A trade accord would add well with both the nations as for India, it could satisfy the ambition to become a powerhouse of manufacturing and for Britain’s this could be another opportunity to bring in the benefits of Brexit. A UK trade department spokesperson has said that the deal has made good progress and is now focused on goods, services and investments.
For more on the trade talks, the issue of visas could be the most sensitive for the UK, which has the political clout to feature in the coming UK elections. With the Brexit, which was all about taking the control back, any decisions about immigration policies could be a hot pan to handle.
Though the completion of the talks may take more time, the negotiations are in the progressive mode. The visit of Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, last month, to Britain has added political momentum to the talks, an UK official said. Another agreement which could take shape could be around the payments made by the Indians toward Britain’s social security system, where the Indians could take back the money. Britain is said to be considering an agreement on this.
On cars, India is trying to bring down the import duty of 100% to 75%, this could keep small capacity cars out of the deals and also, could have a limit on the numbers of cars being sold. In the case of scotch whisky, the duties could be brought down to 100% from the existing 150%, charged above the minimum import price. A steeper cut could be expected in the premium category. One of the major demands kept forward by UK has been the ease of access to the market in these sectors.
The deliberations now, are mostly centered on deciding or defining the criterion for the import duty cuts on the goods which comes under the trade deal purview and also, on an investment protection policy which has been proposed by India, the officials from New Delhi said. Both the countries are still pondering over the promotion and protection of investments on a reciprocal manner and about the judicial remedies and their course, as to whether it should be taken to international jurisdiction or local.
Finally, about the deal, “if it materializes, will be India’s biggest and most ambitious free trade agreement to date. This comes at a time when many western economies are pinning their hopes on the South Asian nation to become a bulwark against China’s growing economic and military clout” the Business Standard’s report said.
