Britain and India have struck a landmark free trade deal, the biggest agreement of its kind since Brexit. It will see tariffs slashed on cosmetics and medical devices and could potentially boost growth by up to £5 billion a year. This deal has been three years in the making and follows intensive negotiations in recent days between Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, and Piyush Goyal, India’s trade minister.
The agreement was formally signed off during a call between the leaders of both countries today. The two sides were keen to get the negotiations over the line in the wake of President Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariffs that imposed 26 per cent taxes on Indian exports to the US and 10 per cent on the UK. It is no mean feat and both governments will be hoping that it helps offset some of the predicted economic fallout from Trump’s trade war.
It is a feather in the government’s cap that it has managed to strike a deal with India before the White House
This deal has required significant concessions on all sides.
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