look news india
Mumbai: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's sudden announcement of early elections in the United Kingdom (UK) after the Lok Sabha elections in India has increased the possibility of delaying the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Britain again. Elections have been announced in Britain on 4 July.
The FTA with the UK was expected to be finalised in July after a new government comes to power in June following the Lok Sabha elections in India. Talks have been going on between the two countries for the last two years.
The terms of the FTA will depend on which party forms the new government in both countries. A government official said, if the current government in both countries remains in power, the agreement can be finalised soon, but in case of a change in government, the pace of talks may increase.
Negotiations on the FTA between India and the UK began in January 2022 and were expected to be finalised in 2022. But the negotiations stalled for some time when the then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stepped down midway.
Although Sunak has since moved ahead with the negotiations, issues such as a bilateral investment treaty, a bilateral social security agreement and the UK's demand for a carbon border tax solution from India have not yet been finalised.
Apart from this, Britain is demanding extensive market integration in India. So far 14 rounds of talks have been completed between the two countries.
Bilateral trade between India and UK is around 38.10 billion pounds per year. This trade is expected to increase after the FTA.