India and the UK to Close Ambitious Trade Deals but Not Before Addressing Some Thorny Issues
Governments of both countries are looking to settle some complicated issues such as bilateral investment treaties, rules of origin, and business mobility.
India and the UK go back long in history. Although the UK has expressed its embarrassment at India’s colonial history which involved over two hundred years of British rule, the two countries have forged a strong bilateral relationship since India’s independence in 1947. Both India and the UK want to close various ambitious trade deals; however, they are not in a hurry to close the deals. The two countries are currently bargaining hard to achieve the best deal.
The governments of India and the UK are looking to resolve various thorny issues so that they can seamlessly go ahead with the free trade agreement. The issues that the two countries are currently addressing are bilateral investment treaties, rules of origin, and business mobility.
A person familiar with the matter said the following:
“In the UK FTA both the countries are looking at an ambitious deal, which is beneficial to both the countries and we are not binding ourselves to any timelines as such.”
“What we are saying is that the deal should be fruitful to both the countries and good for the stakeholders of both the countries,” he further added.
The Department of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Finance are leading the talks separately for the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Officials within the government believe that BIT talks and FTA negotiations will be closed together.
One of the major concerns for India is business mobility. Visa liberation is vital when it comes to business mobility.
India has raised the concern of visa liberation with the UK and has been one of the main areas of contention during the FTA talks. Unless a point of consensus is achieved on visa liberation, business mobility in the FTA model cannot be executed.
An article published on New India Express mentions the following:
“UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch last month said that visas and visa liberalization don’t come within a free trade agreement, but business mobility comes into the trade framework. She said that both countries are actively talking on business mobility and the Bilateral Investment Treaty.”
The India-UK FTA negotiations began in January 2022. Both the countries are to address 26 policy areas, of which 19 have already been closed.
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