India's marine export, processed food among top gainers in UK trade deal as tariff drops to zero

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Processed foods along with marine and animal products are among the top gainers in the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) signed between India and the United Kingdom (UK) on July 24, with tariffs on import of these items in UK slashed to zero from up to 70% and 20%, respectively.

The UK has been imposing the steepest tariffs on Indian processed foods and marine products such as shrimps, tuna and fish meal and so on. The zero tariffs will open UK's $5.4 billion marine market for Indian exporters and fishermen.

Besides, at least 2.8 crore livelihoods will benefit from tariff-free seafood exports through the deal, according to estimates by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Thousands of women involved in the processing of seafood too will benefit directly from the tariff reduction.

According to UK HM Revenue and Customs data, India accounted for around 26% of the UK shrimp import market in 2024, achieving a record high in 2023 with approximately 14,500 MT, valued at $118 million.

Read More: India-UK FTA: Indian electronics, textiles, pharma, chemicals to get zero duty access

With tariffs slashed to zero, Indian marine products expect a level-playing field with competing nations such as Ecuador and Vietnam, which already enjoy zero import duty in most marine products to the UK.

"Fisherfolk in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu will stand to benefit directly from the trade deal. Indian exporters will also gain parity with EU giants such as Germany and Netherlands," the Indian government said.

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Prime Minister Modi and his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, signed the historic trade deal on July 24 at Chequers, the official country residence of British prime minister, located 50 km northwest of London.

Starmer called the India-UK free trade agreement the biggest trade deal since the country left the European Union (EU), underscoring the scale of partnership between both nations.

Calling the trade deal a "historic day" in India-UK relations, PM Modi said, "I am delighted that after the hard work of several years, today our two nations have signed the comprehensive economic and trade agreement. Indian textile, footwear, seafood, engineering goods, gems and jewellery exports will now get better access to the UK market."