Enhanced business ties first step towards UK-India free trade pact
The necessities and priorities of both India and the UK are driving bilateral investment by businesses in each other s economies and increased dialogue on a G2G level OBE May 3, 2021 | Updated 18:04 IST
The Joint Trade Review, the Enhanced Trade Partnership, and the eventual FTA are important elements in a strong vibrant and sustainable partnership between India and UK
The events of 2020 and early 2021, including BREXIT and COVID-19, have thrown up undoubted hurdles causing us all to think outside the box in our working processes and practices. But they are also causing us to identify new opportunities for re-invigorated collaborations and streamlined supply chains.
Synopsis
The existing plethora of scholarly writing has called attention to the political economy inspirations driving the proliferation of trade agreements, which generated less economic benefits. In one of my examinations, I found that our existing FTAs don t significantly affect our trade after controlling the political economy factors.
Typically, nations do tend to sign trade agreements with whom they have a critical trading
history. India did likewise under south-south collaborations, yet none of the current FTAs have produced any significant welfare gain.
Pandemic has created lots of threats and opportunities simultaneously to the Indian economy. Since the fourth quarter of 2020, Indian trade shows signs of mild recovery, given some significant politico-economic changes in the international arena. Still, we have several uncertainties in the international negotiations front.
Updated Jan 15, 2021 | 21:57 IST
Jim Shannon, an MP from the Democratic Unionist Party, urged the UK government to ensure that “robust human rights provisions” are part of any future trade deal with India. Britain s Prime Minister Boris Johnson | Photo Credit: AP
Key Highlights
For the British PM, signing a trade deal with a large market like India will help him politically sell the benefits of Brexit to voters
Johnson was hoping to get a head start this month during his India trip, which had to be cancelled
In FY20, the UK accounted for 16 per cent of India’s USD 54 billion exports to the European Union