India and Britain have agreed a trade deal worth £1 billion ($1.38 billion) that could create thousands of jobs and pave the way for a tariff-busting free trade agreement. UK Trade Minster Liz Truss said the jobs that will happen over the next year could be “the tip of the iceberg” if a full trade deal is reached. Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi are meeting virtually on Tuesday, after a visit to Delhi was cancelled because of the country’s worsening coronavirus crisis.
The trade package raises hopes that a full deal between fast-developing India and post-Brexit Britain can be reached with London hoping to double trade levels by 2030. Talks on a full free trade deal will start in the autumn, Ms Truss said, adding that she wanted to see tariffs lowered on cars and whisky. “The jobs [being announced] are immediate investments and export contracts. The commitments to invest will happen over the next year,” Ms Truss said.
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“It is very different to a free trade deal, which is about lowering tariff barriers and gaining agreements in digital and data. The jobs today are the tip of the iceberg.” UK-India trade is worth about £23 billion a year, according to the British Government.
In 2019, 1.1 per cent of UK exports went to India, and 2 per cent of Britain’s imports came from the country. “This is going to be a win-win for both countries,” Ms Truss said. “There are currently very high tariffs on products like cars and whisky into India. We want to see those tariffs removed to benefit businesses in Britain.” Ms Truss added that the UK was working with India to get Covid medical supplies into the country as it suffers one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks. The deal just struck includes more than £533 million in investment from India and could create 6,500 jobs in health and technology sectors. “Like every aspect of the UK-India relationship, the economic links between our countries make our people stronger and safer,” Mr Johnson sai0d.
“Each and every one of the more than 6,500 jobs we have announced today will help families and communities build back from coronavirus and boost the British and Indian economies.
“In the decade ahead, with the help of new partnership signed today and a comprehensive free trade agreement, we will double the value of our trading partnership with India and take the relationship between our two countries to new highs.”
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A patient breathes with the help of oxygen provided by a Gurdwara, a place of worship for Sikhs, in Ghaziabad. AFP -
Kashmiri boat men take rest inside boats during a lockdown in Srinagar. EPA -
Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. EPA -
A Covid-19 coronavirus patient is being helped by his relatives outside a coronavirus ward. AFP -
A man collects money from an auto rickshaw driver. AFP -
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This deal includes investment worth £240m from the Serum Institute of India which will support clinical trials, research, and potentially vaccine manufacture. British businesses have secured export deals with India worth more than £446 million, which is expected to create more than 400 British jobs.
