India-UK FTA talks: Trying to balance mobility, migration concerns

With the proposed India-United Kingdom (UK) free-trade agreement (FTA) reaching the last leg, both countries are trying to strike a balance between their concerns over mobility and migration-related issues, a senior government official said on Friday.

“We have to balance the UK’s migration concerns with our (India’s) mobility issues. The point is we would like our companies to be given mobility so that they can perform over there and their concern that migration doesn’t go unchecked,” the official said, without divulging details since the discussions are confidential.

Easy visa norms for the movement of professionals has been one of India’s key demands, where both sides are yet to reach a common ground.

The discussions assume significance, considering that the UK has recently announced significant tightening of the country’s immigration policy.

Apart from movement of skilled professionals, the UK’s demand for greater market access for electric vehicles (EVs), whiskey, gin, among other issues, continue to remain unresolved.

After a high-level UK delegation visited India to iron out the differences, currently, an Indian delegation is in London to advance discussions.

Both sides already missed the Diwali deadline last year, set by former UK prime minister Boris Johnson. With general elections expected in both countries next year, the window for a trade deal is fast shrinking.

Other FTA
 

The negotiations on the text of most of the chapters for the proposed India-Oman FTA have concluded, government officials said on Friday. Two rounds of negotiations have been completed till now. The commerce department has set an internal deadline of finalising the deal by month-end.

Oman is India’s 29th largest trading partner and the third largest export destination among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

According to Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India can hope to radically increase its exports post-FTA, as over 80 per cent of its goods currently enter Oman at an average 5 per cent import duties, and there are not many trade barriers.