India UK FTA different from previous trade agreements, balances the forces, the sensitivities of the two countries
Note that the India’s trade agreement with the United Kingdom is the most complete of recent years, the Sunil Bark Secretary Barthwal said on Friday that he was different from the other free trade agreements because he reflects the transition from India to a more mature economy.
“India is now a mature economy. We would like to enter fields where we have not gone to other AFF,” Barthwal told journalists, stressing that each trade agreement is on his own foot. “No Ale can be an ALE model for any other negotiation,” he said.
Officials have stressed that the India-UK trade agreement is between two of the world’s largest economies. India and the United Kingdom rank respectively as fourth and sixth larger economies.
India and the United Kingdom on July 24 signed the complete economic trade agreement, the negotiations of which were concluded in May this year. The agreement, which was signed by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, and his British counterpart Jonathan Reynolds in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, aim to double bilateral trade at around $ 130 billion by 2030.
Barthwal noted that hundreds of meetings and consultations have been devoted to the successful conclusion of the ALE and said that it adds certainty to companies and stakeholders.
“ALF are bilateral agreements and cannot be unilateral … The objective was to let trade gain forces from both countries and to protect the sensitivities of the other,” he said.
Consequently, within the framework of the trade agreement, India has saved its sensitive sectors – dairy, cereals and millers, vegetables and vegetables, to high value articles such as gold, jewelry, diamonds cultivated in the laboratory and certain essential oils.
Strategic exclusions also cover critical energy fuels, sea vessels, worn clothes and critical polymers and their monofilaments, smartphones and optical fibers – a solid stand to protect farmers, MPMs and national interests.
For strategically important products – in particular those where interior capacities are under construction in the context of flagship initiatives such as Make in India and the incentive regimes linked to production – concessions are provided over periods of five, seven and ten years.
In terms of alcoholic beverages, in particular Scottish whiskey, which was considered a key risk of Indian industry, India has chosen to gradually and selectively open its market. “Scotch is a GI product, and there is always a limit to which it can be produced,” noted the trade secretary, adding that the ALE will help export exports of mixed whiskey.
For Scottish whiskey, the duty will be reduced to 40% over ten years. Reductions of limited rights (up to 75% over ten years) were offered on other alcoholic drinks, with concessions applicable only above a defined minimum import price – $ 6 for bottles and $ 5 for bulk whiskey.
In terms of access to the automobile market, India has embarked on a liberalization strategy based on calibrated, progressive and development -oriented quotas. Under this, a total annual quota up to 37,000 cars was provided at a reduced rate – with a structure noted for the quota and the prices.
