India-UK Free Trade Agreement

Current Context: India and the United Kingdom have successfully concluded a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after three years of negotiations, aiming to boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Key Highlights:

• Tariff Elimination: India will reduce tariffs on 90% of goods, including significant cuts for whisky, gin, cosmetics, and food products.
• Professional Mobility: The agreement includes provisions to ease the mobility of professionals, investors, and intra-corporate transferees, along with their dependents.
• Double Contribution Convention: Indian workers temporarily in the UK and their employers will be exempt from paying UK national insurance contributions for up to three years.
• Export Opportunities: Enhanced market access for sectors like textiles, marine products, leather, footwear, engineering goods, auto parts, and organic chemicals.
• Services Sector: The deal benefits services like IT/ITeS and financial services through new opportunities and job creation.
• Digital Trade: Improved access for UK services in India’s market, particularly for professional services, with mutual qualification recognition and non-discrimination measures.
• About FTA: A Free Trade Agreement is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them. The purpose of FTAs is to reduce trade barriers and increase trade between the participating countries.