Free-trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK is expected to be signed in October 2023

According to a report from the Economic Times, a planned free-trade agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom is anticipated to be signed at the end of October 2023.

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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has already reaffirmed his intention to fostering greater relations between the UK and India in a variety of sectors, including through a free trade agreement (FTA).

Official data from the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) estimates that bilateral trade between the UK and India was valued at 36 billion pounds in 2022.

An official has stated that a 30-member official delegation from the UK began the next round of discussions for a free trade agreement with the Indian team here on Monday in order to resolve outstanding concerns and accelerate the conclusion of the talks between the two nations.

The 13th session of talks between the two countries just ended. To give the discussions a boost, a team led by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal was in London last week, according to PTI.

In order for the final manufactured good to be referred to as goods originating in the FTA country, the "rules of origin" provision specifies that only little processing should take place there.

This clause forbids a country that has signed a FTA with India from simply labeling goods imported from a third country and dumping them on the Indian market. The items must be given a certain amount of value addition in order to be exported to India. Product dumping is prevented by norms defining rules of origin.

According to reports from PTI, India and the UK are negotiating a separate agreement for the investment treaty.

The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022–2023 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021–2022, as discussed by Badenoch and her Indian counterpart, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, during a trip to India in August that coincided with Round 12 of the FTA negotiations.

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