UK could benefit from £100 billion free trade agreement with India as negotiations restart
It has been reported that Boris Johnson is planning a visit to India in October to kickstart a trade drive that could lead to a £100 billion free trade agreement (FTA) with the fast growing South Asian economy. The visit would replace a previous attempt cancelled by coronavirus restrictions and rising cases in both nations earlier this year.
This will be welcome news for many, but particularly for businesses and world leaders as they look to scale up and forge new relationships with a rapidly changing world. International trade is often vital for building these links, with small firms especially set to benefit from the increased access to millions of new potential customers.
It’s clear that a trade deal is high on both Johnson and Modi’s agenda and an India-UK FTA is a top priority. The UK-India trade and investment relationship is already worth around £24 billion and supports more than half a million jobs across the UK, providing great building blocks for the future. An FTA would further strengthen this relationship, and is estimated to be worth over £50 billion.
Gaurav Singh, founder of JPIN VCATS, comments on the potential FTA and what international trade means for business leaders:
“India is one of the world’s largest economies and presents huge potential as a key partner for trade and investment for the UK. India is a 21st century powerhouse and creating a strong UK-India trading relationship will help to fuel economic recovery in a post-Brexit, post-Covid UK. India and UK have been working to improve trade and it can really allow UK to benefit from the immense growth India is about to experience in the coming decade. A trade deal with India could be as high as £50-100 billion, given India was a top two FDI source for UK and UK has been a top six investor into India.
“A trade deal will open the door to 1.3 billion potential customers for UK businesses, and provide opportunities for business improvement, consolidation, foreign expansion and diversification in a rapidly growing market. India is a top priority for good reason – it is growing exponentially and will be the centre of world trade in the coming decades, and building a trading relationship here is particularly important.”
