UK FTA: Negotiations only at halfway point; India misses internal deadline of closing pact by March

A British newspaper had suggested that FTA talks between the two countries have been suspended over the UK's failure to denounce vandalism by Khalistani supporters outside the Indian High Commission in London last month.

Negotiations on the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are only at the halfway point, and India has missed its internal deadline of closing the talks by March 2023.

Of the 26 chapters to be negotiated, only 13 have been closed so far, commerce ministry officials said on April 13.

Last November, commerce department officials had set an internal deadline to conclude the negotiations for the free trade agreement by March 2023.

“Discussions are currently continuing on rules of origin,” a senior ministry official told Moneycontrol.

The eighth round of negotiations was completed last month in New Delhi. A bilateral interaction between the two trade ministers was also held in March to take stock of the progress in the negotiations.

The ninth round of talks is scheduled for April 24 to 28. An investment pact is also being negotiated as a separate Bilateral Investment Treaty. It will be concluded simultaneously with the India-UK FTA.

India and the UK had launched negotiations for the free-trade agreement (FTA) in January 2022 with the aim of concluding the talks by Diwali (October 24), but the deadline was missed. India had then set another internal deadline of March 2023.

The dates for the ninth round of talks come only days after a British newspaper had suggested that FTA talks between the two countries have been suspended over the UK's failure to denounce vandalism by Khalistani supporters outside the Indian High Commission in London last month.

India had dismissed these claims, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on April 11 saying “India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations are going on as we speak” at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) in Washington.

India has recently signed FTAs with a slew of countries, including Australia and the UAE. It is also negotiating an FTA with the European Union, over 23 policy areas.