2024-07-11 03:00:46
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India is optimistic about reaching a long-awaited trade deal with Britain’s new Labour government but warned Britain not to “put a gun” in front of India. [to] The country’s commerce minister said the US move would “prevent” the resumption of negotiations and set a deadline.
Piyush Goyal told the Financial Times that past discussions showed both sides were “very much in agreement on most of the issues we discussed” and that a deal could be reached “very soon”.
But he urged Britain not to repeat the mistake of Boris Johnson, when the prime minister promised at the beginning of 2022 that a trade deal would be finalised within six months.
“India Don’t believe any [free trade agreement] “There should be a deadline for negotiations,” he said. “We never discuss free trade agreements with any country or group of countries at gunpoint.” [to] Our heads.”
Negotiations between the two countries began in January 2022.
In a call with Narendra Modi following the Labour Party’s general election victory last week, Sir Keir Starmer told the Indian Prime Minister, who was re-elected last month, that he was “ready to do a deal that works for both sides”.
Speaking on the day of the British election, Goyal said he had obtained a commitment from the Labour Party before the election that they would continue negotiations if they won, but warned that negotiations would not be rushed and any agreement must be “fair, equitable and balanced.”
Goyal said the deal “could be done very quickly but it could also take a long time”.
Labour won a historic majority in last week’s election, winning 411 seats, while the Conservatives fell to their worst ever election result, winning just 121 seats.
The new British Labour Party business and trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, visited India in a shadow capacity earlier this year, and the party pledged in its manifesto to seek “a new strategic partnership, including a free trade agreement” with India.
According to local media reports, the next round of formal negotiations will begin this month.
Britain is seeking lower tariffs on British exports such as whisky and cars, and an easing of rules restricting its financial and professional services firms from operating in India.
New Delhi wants market access for goods such as textiles and better conditions for its citizens to work and study in the UK.
Britain also insisted that any deal offering greater access for British businesses must reflect the huge growth opportunities in the world’s most populous country, with the economy expected to expand by more than 7% this year.
“If you ask me, personally, I don’t think there are any big issues left in the free trade agreement except that we have opened up significantly in the services sector but only on the basis that we expect certain commitments from the UK,” Goyal said.
He added that any agreement would need to be a “fair balance” given our different population sizes, different aspiration levels and different growth projections.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party was elected for a third consecutive term last month, albeit with a weakened mandate after it lost its majority and was forced to form a coalition government.
Goyal called the election results a “big victory” for the BJP and said the government “returns with a new vision and enthusiasm to do more.” India is also negotiating a trade agreement with the European Union.
“India is seeking greater openness, India is seeking to improve and strengthen our regulatory practices and ease of doing business, thereby bringing more policy stability, predictability and continuity,” he said.
“We are committed to more investment and trade with the world as long as it is fair to both sides.”
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