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COVER STORY                                                          AUGUST 01, 2025       |  The Indian Eye                    5



        Indian goods more price-competitive                                                                   lations, visa norms, and pharmaceuti-
        than those from China, Vietnam, and                                                                   cal pricing.
        Bangladesh. Farmers and fishers, too,                                                                     In addition, domestic political re-
        are set to gain from the UK’s $5.4 bil-                                                               sistance in both countries has played
        lion marine import market and pref-                                                                   a role. In the US, bipartisan concerns
        erential access to agriculture exports.                                                               over labor rights and environmental
            Farmers in India are among the                                                                    standards have made FTAs a hard
        major winners as they are set to get                                                                  sell. In India, vocal industry lobbies
        preferential access to UK’s agricul-                                                                  and political groups remain skeptical
        tural market -- pegged to be around                                                                   of opening sensitive sectors to foreign
        USD 37.5  billion  --  with  the  signing                                                             competition.
        of the landmark India-UK Free Trade                                                                       Still, business leaders and trade
        (FTA) Agreement.                                                                                      experts  argue that  a  US-India  trade
            Post the formalisation of the FTA,                                                                deal remains essential. With bilater-
        it is expected to open premium mar-                                                                   al trade nearing $200 billion, the ab-
        kets  in the UK for  Indian produce,                                                                  sence of a formal agreement leaves
        offering similar or even better benefits                                                              several sectors—especially services
        than those enjoyed by exporters from                                                                  and digital commerce—exposed to
        European countries like Germany                                                                       uncertainties and non-tariff barriers.
        and the Netherlands.
            Indian staples such as turmeric,                                                                         THE ROAD AHEAD
        pepper, and cardamom, along with   Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Secretary of State for Business
        processed products like mango pulp,   and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs and Rachel Reeves,   hat the India-UK FTA rep-
        pickles, and pulses, will get duty-free   Chancellor of the Exchequer in a picture after the signing of the India-UK Comprehensive   resents, then, is a turning
        access, improving their margins and                                                                   Wpoint—not just diplomat-
        market reach. Over 95 per cent of In-  Economic and Trade Agreement [CETA], in London on Thursday. (DPR PMO/ANI Photo)  ically, but philosophically. India is
        dia’s agricultural and processed food                                                                 shedding its protectionist shell and
        tariff lines will face zero duties once  in areas like digital trade, data local-  creasingly wary of asymmetric trade  engaging with the global trade system
        the agreement is enforced.        ization, intellectual property rights,  deals. Officials cite the lopsided out-  on more confident terms. At the same
            These include fruits, vegetables,  and agriculture, New Delhi remains  comes of past FTAs, particularly with  time, it is drawing clear red lines.
        cereals, spice mixes, fruit pulps, ready-  cautious. Concerns over data sover-  ASEAN and South Korea, as a reason   Sensitive sectors like dairy, wheat,
        to-eat meals, and more. This move  eignty, domestic regulatory flexibility,  for their cautious stance. As a result,  apples, and cooking oils have been
        will reduce the landed cost of these  and farmer protections have slowed  India pulled out of RCEP in 2019 and  kept out of the UK FTA. In intellectu-
        goods in the UK and enhance their  progress.                        has since recalibrated its approach to  al property, India accepted language
        competitiveness.                      Moreover, the US is no longer  trade—prioritizing ‘fair and balanced’  aligning with global norms, but avoid-
            The FTA will help Indian agricul-  aggressively pursuing bilateral FTAs.  agreements that serve domestic inter-  ed commitments that could compro-
        ture sector transition from focus on  Its trade strategy has shifted toward  ests.                    mise its public health safeguards. In
        high volume to high value products,  regional frameworks like the Indo-Pa-  Political dynamics further com-  services, India has selectively liberal-
        and from catering to local markets to  cific  Economic  Framework  (IPEF),  plicate the India-US trade equation.  ized key sectors like telecom, insur-
        expanding globally.               which emphasizes standards, digital  While the two nations have strength-  ance, and auditing, while protecting
            India has also ensured that the  governance, and supply chain resil-  ened ties in defense and technology  legal services and domestic employ-
        FTA fully protects sensitive sectors  ience over tariff reduction.  under strategic initiatives like QUAD,  ment standards.
        like dairy, vegetables, apples, cooking   India, for its part, has grown in-  friction remains on e-commerce regu-  The government insists that each
        oils, oats. There will be no tariff con-                                                              deal it signs will be a “win-win.” As
        cessions on these commodities.                                                                        Commerce  Minister  Piyush Goyal
            Further, in what could be termed                                                                  recently said, “India is open to the
        as a “big catch” for Indian fish farm-                                                                world—but on our terms.”
        ers, the USD 5.4 billion UK market                                                                        This strategic duality—openness
        also got opened up for marine exports                                                                 with caution—will likely define India’s
        as UK import duty on marine prod-                                                                     trade trajectory in the coming years.
        ucts are set to fall to zero from up to                                                               FTAs  with  the  EU,  New  Zealand,
        20 per cent.                                                                                          and others are already on the horizon.
            Both nations desire to increase                                                                   And while the US deal remains on ice,
        their trade to USD 120 billion by 2030.                                                               India is not waiting.
                                                                                                                  By methodically unlocking mar-
               STRATEGIC SHIFT?                                                                               ket access, India is not only building
                                                                                                              bridges to new economies—it is build-
              mid this expansion, one deal                                                                    ing confidence at home. The message
              remains elusive—the long-dis-                                                                   is clear: India is ready to lead, not just
        Acussed India-US Free Trade                                                                           participate, in shaping the global trade
        Agreement. Despite multiple rounds                                                                    agenda.
        of talks and high-level meetings over                                                                     From manufacturing to mobility,
        the past decade,  a comprehensive                                                                     agriculture  to  artificial  intelligence,
        agreement has yet to materialize. The                                                                 India  is  embedding  itself  into  the
        reasons are manifold.              Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer have   world’s economic bloodstream. And
            Firstly, India and the US have di-  tea during a business event following the signing of the historic India-UK Comprehensive   in doing so, it is not just negotiating
        vergent expectations. While Washing-  Economic and Trade Agreement [CETA], in London on Thursday. (DPR PMO/ANI Photo)  trade agreements—it is negotiating
        ton pushes for broader liberalization                                                                 the terms of its own rise.


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