Fresh time line for India UK Free trade agreement

Brittan is keen to clinch a free trade agreement (FTA) with India in time for Easter, which falls at the end of March 2024, according to a UK media report.

The India-UK FTA talks began in January 2022, aimed at  enhancing bilateral trading partnership. A new round of negotiations, expected to be the last, is set to start early in the in early 2024 after the thirteenth round concluded on December 15.

 â€œPrime Minister Mr Sunak and India’s premier Narendra Modi are said to be keen to get the deal wrapped up by April,” reads a report in a British Newspaper. The idea is to clinch it before the notification for the general elections in India are announced in April

A lot of progress has been made, but some of the “hardest” aspects remain pending the newspaper quoting official sources said. “We have made a lot of progress, but the last stuff to do is the hardest. We have negotiators out there most weeks going through the details, and we have a deadline of their elections,” the source told the newspaper.

"Both Rishi Sunak and Modi remain keen, so it’s just a case of seeing if we can get it over the line,” The UK hopes an FTA will open up its trade in Scotch whisky and cars to India, as well as services and investment opportunities. Meanwhile, India would seek better access to its manufactured goods and services and a deal on professional visas.

With both India and the UK heading into a general election year in 2024, signing off on a trade agreement has taken on particular urgency before leaders on both sides get into campaign mode.

During the last round of negotiations held in Delhi, they were focused on complex issues, including goods, services, and investment. The UK and India will continue to negotiate towards a comprehensive and ambitious Free Trade Agreement. The fourteenth round of negotiations will take place in January 2024,” the statement said.