India-UK Trade Pact Poised To Push Bilateral Trade And Consumer Access, Say Experts
Import duty relaxations and eliminations across various sectors under the India-UK free trade agreement will boost bilateral trade and expand consumer markets in both countries, experts said on Wednesday. India and the UK on Tuesday clinched a 'landmark' trade deal that will remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper, in a bid to double trade between the two economies to USD 120 billion by 2030.
According to experts, the pact was announced at a critical juncture when the global trade is facing uncertainty due to US tariff policies.
"Tariff relaxations and eliminations coupled...across sectors would not only enhance the bilateral exports but also open up consumer market on both sides especially amidst the market sentiment due to recent tariff announcements by the US," Krishan Arora, Partner, Leader - India Investment Roadmap, Grant Thornton Bharat, said.
International trade expert and Hi-Tech Gears Chairman Deep Kapuria said India and the UK are the 5th and 6th largest economies of the world, respectively, and their integration through trade deal would provide an opportunity to the businesses of two countries to access a market of USD 6.08 trillion, the combined GDP of two nations.
"The trade deal, besides opening enhanced market access for Indian products from labour-intensive sectors, would also provide newer opportunities to diversify services exports," he said.
Kapuria added that the easing of mobility of professionals and commitments on digitally delivered services can facilitate India's services export to UK across sectors.
Rishi Shah, Partner and Economic Advisory Services Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat, said that the deal's success will ultimately depend on implementation and whether Indian businesses can leverage new market access while navigating competitive pressures from UK imports.
Nirmal Jain, Founder, IIFL Group, termed it as a game-changing FTA.
"Zero-duty access for 99 per cent of our exports, big wins for services, 3-year social security exemption for professionals, boosts for India's competitiveness, MSMEs, deepens global value chain integration," Jain said.
Praveen Someshwar, MD & CEO, Diageo India, said the treaty will enable improved accessibility and choice of scotch for the Indian consumers, the largest and most exciting whisky market.
Anurag Sehgal, Managing Director, Price Waterhouse & Co LLP, said that the deal can thus be a solid template for ongoing negotiations with the US and the EU.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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