India and the United Kingdom have recently wrapped up their tenth round of discussions regarding a proposed free trade agreement (FTA). According to an announcement made by the government on Monday, the next round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in July.
Throughout this phase, the two nations engaged in technical deliberations across ten different policy areas, conducting over 50 separate sessions. Notably, there were in-depth deliberations on the draft treaty text within these specific domains.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry released a statement affirming the conclusion of the tenth round on June 9, stating, "India and the United Kingdom concluded the tenth round of talks for an India-UK FTA." It is worth mentioning that the negotiations for this agreement were initiated on January 13, 2021.
The statement further mentioned that the discussions involved comprehensive discussions on the draft treaty text within the specified policy areas. Additionally, it indicated that the eleventh round of negotiations is planned for the upcoming month.
In terms of bilateral trade, there has been a notable increase, with the trade volume between the countries reaching $20.36 billion in FY23, compared to $17.5 billion in FY22.
India primarily exports ready-made garments, textiles, gems and jewelry, engineering goods, petroleum, and petrochemical products to the UK. On the other hand, key imports from the UK include precious and semi-precious stones, ores and metal scraps, and engineering goods.