UK and India free trade deal talks to start in autumn, says minister
The UK and India will begin talks over a full free trade deal in the autumn that will “double” trade between the two countries, trade minister Liz Truss has said.
Truss told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Britain wanted to see India’s tariffs on imported cars and whiskey reduced or removed as part of such a deal.
“We will start negotiations on a full free trade agreement this autumn. Of course, free trades take longer — what this is is the immediate gains that what we can get for both countries driving jobs and growth both here in Britain and in India,” she said.
Such negotiations would “double” trade between the two countries by 2030, which currently stands at around £24bn, according to Truss.
The trade minister announced an additional £1bn of private-sector investment and an extra 6,000 new jobs in the UK as part of the deal talks.
“There are also going to be more opportunities in India because this is about a win-win for both countries it’s about helping India with the immediate covid cirrus but also helping India build back better after the covid crisis,” Truss added.
The fresh investment will include £533m of new Indian investment into Britain focused on the health and technology sectors, will come into force “over the next year or so”, Truss said.
British businesses have also secured export deals with India worth more than £446m, expected to create more than 400 British jobs.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are due to meet tomorrow, although the talks will be held virtually after spiralling Covid cases in the country forced Johnson to cancel a planned visit to India last week.
It comes as India grapples with the worst surge in coronavirus infections of any country in the world during the pandemic.
The number of new Covid infections in India passed 20m this morning, with 357, 229 additional infections reported in the latest 24-hour period. The health ministry also reported another 3,449 deaths for the same period.
Experts believe the true figure for coronavirus cases and fatalities is likely much higher due to low reporting in the country.
The UK this week announced it will send an extra 1,000 ventilators to India to help with its fight against Covid, with Truss announcing fresh talks with her Indian counterpart over further support measures.
“It’s a heartbreaking situation in India and my heart goes out to the people of India in the severe problems they’re facing,” she said this morning.
“And we’re working very, very closely with partners across the world to make sure India has the supplies it needs… They’re a close ally of the UK and we really are working hard to make sure we can help as much as possible.”