PM Starmer leads business delegation to India to tout UK trade pact

File photo: PM Narendra Modi with UK counterpart Keir Starmer

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will lead a delegation of more than 100 British business, academic and cultural leaders to India, as he seeks to deepen commerce between the two countries after signing a long-awaited free trade agreement.

Starmer finalized the deal with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in July, following three years of intense negotiations, saying it would bring “huge benefits to both of our countries” by boosting wages, raising living standards and bringing down prices for consumers.

The deal represents a vote of confidence in free trade by two of the world’s biggest economies even as President Donald Trump pursues a more protectionist trade agenda in the US. For India, the agreement signals that it’s ready to lower trade barriers as it seeks to negotiate pacts with the US and European Union.

For the UK, the agreement reaffirms the country’s commitment to the free exchange of goods and services in the wake of Brexit. The UK is hoping to negotiate similar deals with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Switzerland and Turkey.

The visit to India will be an important step for Starmer toward ensuring companies are able to access the benefits brought by the trade agreement, which removes tariffs on more than 90% of UK goods.

Speaking on a panel at Labour’s annual conference last month, trade minister Chris Bryant — who was appointed to the position following Starmer’s cabinet reshuffle earlier in September — said that UK governments had, in the past, failed to create enough awareness among businesses of how trade deals could work for them.