companies to do business,” she said. “The global trading environment
06/05/2025. London, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Keir Starmer calls Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, as the two countries announce a trade agreement.
Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street.
is currently an unstable one, with greater fragmentation and increased levels of protectionism. In light of recent trade wars and US tariff related disruption, new partnerships that encourage free and open trade should be celebrated.” The deal with the UK could
protections for innovators in the Indian market. “As one of the UK’s largest
exporting sectors, it’s disappointing that this deal seemingly won’t support the UK’s growth ambitions for pharmaceuticals,” said Richard Torbett, ABPI chief executive. “Robust intellectual
property
protections are fundamental for the innovation our companies deliver, but we believe an opportunity has been missed by the UK to demonstrate a commitment to high IP standards for our sector in this agreement. We urge the government to use ongoing negotiations with other key trading partners, including the EU, US, and Switzerland, to deliver agreements that better support Britain’s pharmaceutical industry.” David Henig, UK director
at the European Centre for International Political Economy, also has reservations, describing the treaty as “very much a tariff reduction deal, with no mention of data or financial services”. But he added, “that’s always been the most realistic landing zone. Talk of incredible levels of ambition always seemed unwise.”
WIDESPREAD APPROVAL However, in general the arrival of the FTA – which followed a final round of negotiations between the UK’s Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal
– has won widespread approval after being lauded as “the biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal the UK has done since leaving the EU” by the Department for Business and Trade in London. Marco Forgione, director
general of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, said the agreement represented “welcome news to our members and the wider business community. It is a strong example of what can be done when good will and mutual benefits between trading partners are clear. With UK industries, such as automotive, currently feeling the challenges of the US tariffs, this deal comes at an opportune moment for a range of goods and services industries. With the deal due to increase bilateral trade between the UK and India by £25.5 billion, there are significant gains to be seized upon by British businesses right across the UK’s nations and regions. The benefits of our world-leading services businesses now having access to India’s £1.5 trillion services sector, and one that is growing at nearly 8% a year, is not to be underestimated.” Emma Rowland, trade policy
adviser at the Institute of Directors, agreed that the pact offered new opportunities and easier access for exporters looking for growth. “With significant growth prospects on the horizon and a rising consumer base, India is an attractive place for UK
also open up fresh opportunities for India, not least the possibility of securing an FTA with the European Union, which has been the subject of on-off negotiations since 2012. Himanshu Tewari, a partner specialising in trade and customs at KPMG India, points out that the agreement with the UK comes on the heels of several other trade deals the Delhi government has reached in the recent past, starting with Australia and followed by the UAE, and with the four members of the European Free Trade Association: Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland. “It demonstrates a very
deliberate and sure-footed approach of expanding India’s FTA footprint for gaining market access for goods of Indian origin and opening new avenues of growth and international cooperation,” he says. “Successful negotiation of
the FTA with the UK – till most recently being part of the EU – also bodes well for the progress that India will be able to make with EU FTA negotiations, which have been waiting for a decisive push after the past thirteen years of negotiations.” Viraj Mehta, the World
Economic Forum’s head of the regional agenda for India and South Asia offered his perspective. “The deal between India and the UK is particularly important in a global environment of rising trade tensions and highlights the critical role
of partnerships for shared
progress and prosperity. India is a key growth engine for the world.” And the Brits are pinning their
hopes on the FTA generating some key growth for them, too.
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GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
INDIA & UK TRADE
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