Boris Johnson calls India-UK FTA ‘biggest of them all’

British Prime Minister boris johnson repeated on monday Diwali timeline for draft India-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (FTA), declaring that the proposed trade deal with New Delhi would be the largest ever in a post-Brexit context.

In a statement to mark the start of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda’s capital Kigali on Monday, Mr Johnson plugged the “commonwealth benefit” that has brought immense value to all 54-member countries of the organisation. couple.

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He explained how India, as the largest member of the grouping, would be on the same table as the smallest for the CHOGM, reflecting the diverse powers of the Commonwealth.

“The Pacific Islands of Tuvalu (population 11,000) would be on the same table as India (population 1.3 billion). Yet for all the differences between us, we are joined by an invisible thread of shared values, histories and institutions and of course the English language,” writes Mr. Johnson. Daily Telegraph Newspaper.

“All this creates a unique opportunity for the UK whereby the Commonwealth – and the Commonwealth only – connects the vast and rapidly growing markets with a real and quantifiable trading advantage. We are mobilizing reclaimed sovereignty of the UK to sign trade or economic partnership agreements. So far we have done 33 including Australia and New Zealand and we are targeting India as the biggest by Diwali in October.

During his visit to India in April, Mr Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the negotiating teams from both sides should work towards a Diwali timeline for completing a draft free trade agreement.

The teams are now in the middle of the fourth round of FTA talks, with the Commerce Secretary flying in from India for the ongoing talks in the UK.

Indian High Commissioner to the UK Gayatri Issar Kumar told reporters at a farewell ceremony for the outgoing envoy by Indian journalists, “Things are going very well, we are completing chapters so fast and making progress on other chapters ” Association (IJA) in London on Friday.

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“Interestingly what I learned is that our Ministry of Commerce has opened many more territories to the UK than other countries, and I am really happy that this is happening. As my government envoy to the UK In the U.S., I’d really like to see it India’s best FTA with any country because I think there are a lot of complementary strengths… Just the fact that we’re engaging so deeply is a good sign,” she said. .

During his visit to the UK last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had also indicated good progress towards the Diwali deadline.

“With the UK, we had agreed to an early harvest agreement – ​​basically, to grab the low-hanging fruit and leave the more difficult elements for the next phase… Well, we are actually doing a full FTA with the UK till Diwali,” he had said at the time.

The focus of FTA negotiations is on reducing trade barriers, cutting tariffs and subsidiaries for exports.

According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), an FTA with India is expected to nearly double UK exports to India.

According to industry estimates, a trade deal is expected to increase total UK trade by £28bn a year and £3bn in wages in UK territories by 2035.

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Lord Karan Billimoria, chairman of the CBI, who recently launched the UK-India Industry Taskforce, said, “A free trade agreement with the world’s fastest growing economy is now very far away, and the focus is on reducing barriers to trade.” It is necessary to do now.” As a joint commission to enhance cross-industry cooperation on FTA negotiations.

According to the UK’s Department of International Trade (DIT), India-UK bilateral trade currently stands at around £24 billion per year.

In May last year, Mr Johnson and Mr Modi achieved an enhanced trade partnership with the goal of at least doubling bilateral trade to £50 billion by 2030.

Industry experts expect this figure to go up further with the conclusion of the FTA.