Piyush Goyal meets UK counterpart Reynolds to resolve pending FTA issues

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday held a “productive” meeting with UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds to push for the long-pending free trade agreement (FTA) during his two-day visit to the country.

 

“Arrived in London for two days of engaging discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and investment relations. In my first engagement, held a productive meeting with the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds to advance free trade agreement negotiations, reinforcing our commitment to deepening India-UK economic ties,” Goyal posted on X.

 

In addition to focusing on reducing tariffs, increasing market access and simplifying trade norms through an FTA, the rush to finalise the trade deal is driven by the United States’ (US) plan to impose country-specific reciprocal tariffs, which have now been put on hold till July 9. The meeting comes against the backdrop of global trade being up for a major reset due to protectionist trade policies being implemented by Washington.

 

Government officials said that the trade deal talks between India and the UK are inching towards conclusion. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was also in London to give further push to the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) talks. Both sides have struggled to iron out differences related to the investment pact, mainly over resolution of disputes. 

 

Separately, in an attempt to make some progress, the Union Budget 2025-26 announced India’s intention to revamp the current model BIT and make it “more investor-friendly” to encourage sustained foreign investment.

 

Apart from BIT, there are only a few other pending issues related to the FTA, including New Delhi’s push for concluding a social security pact, and London's push for a greater market for financial services. India has also been raising concerns over Britain’s plan to roll out a carbon border adjustment mechanism from 2027. London has also been bargaining hard for lower tariffs on whiskey and automobiles.

 

After almost a year-long hiatus, India and the UK formally launched a three-track negotiation for an FTA, BIT and double contribution convention or a social security agreement in February.

 

This is the second meeting between Goyal and his British counterpart since the announcement of the relaunch of FTA talks.

 

India-UK FTA talks were launched in January 2022, with an ambitious target to seal the deal in nine months. However, political instability in the UK, unresolved differences over various issues and general elections in both the nations during April-July further delayed the fruition of the deal.