The UK government on Thursday announced the launch of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with India, describing it as a "golden opportunity" to put British businesses at the "front of the queue" of the Indian economy.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said an FTA would take the country's historic partnership with India to the next level. He also highlighted Scotch whisky, financial services and cutting-edge renewable technology among some of the key sectors set to benefit.

The first round of negotiations is expected to start next week, which the British government said would make it the UK's quickest start of formal talks between negotiating teams following a launch.

"A trade deal with India's booming economy offers huge benefits for British businesses, workers and consumers. As we take our historic partnership with India to the next level, the UK's independent trade policy is creating jobs, increasing wages and driving innovation across the country," Johnson said.

"The UK has world-class businesses and expertise we can rightly be proud of, from Scotch whisky distillers to financial services and cutting-edge renewable technology. We are seizing the opportunities offered in growing economies of the Indo-Pacific to cement our place on the global stage and deliver jobs and growth at home," he said.

Johnson's Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan will meet with Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi for the 15th UK-India Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO).

The meeting will be held to review the progress within the UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership on which both the countries agreed on in May 2021.

She is also expected to meet with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to discuss wider bilateral cooperation.

"A deal with India is a golden opportunity to put UK businesses at the front of the queue as the Indian economy continues to grow rapidly," Trevelyan said.

"By 2050, India will be the world's third-largest economy with a middle class of almost 250 million shoppers. We want to unlock this huge new market for our great British producers and manufacturers across numerous industries from food and drinks to services and automotive," she said.

"India marks the start of our ambitious five-star year of UK trade and will show how the deals we negotiate will boost the economies across all nations and help level up all regions of the UK," said the minister.

According to press release by UK government, UK-India FTA would bring multiple benefits including:

• Playing a key role in our ambition to double trade with India by 2030 - supercharging the growth of our trading relationship which totalled over £23bn in 2019.
• Slashing barriers on UK exports – Removing duties alone would increase exports to India by up to £6.8 billion, supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the UK. Important UK exports like Scotch whisky and cars currently face enormous duties of 150% and 125% respectively.
• Levelling up the UK – DIT analysis shows a trade agreement with India could boost the economies of all nations and regions of the UK. Almost 30,000 people in the West Midlands, for example, were employed via Indian investment in 2019, and the region could see a massive boost of up to £300m with opportunities for manufacturers of motor vehicles and parts.
• Investment in UK jobs - International investment from Indian companies already supports 95,000 jobs across the UK and could grow with a new trade deal.
• Boost UK’s green industries - The Indian government plans to install 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and much more in the coming decades. UK’s world-leading renewables industry looks set to benefit from a deal that slashes barriers – such as import tariffs as high as 15% on wind turbine parts from the UK.

Image credit: ORF