The UK on Friday expressed hope that it will soon be able to complete negotiations on a draft free trade agreement (FTA) with India, a move aimed at further strengthening trade and investment ties between the two. country. “I can confidently predict that we will complete the India-UK FTA before we see an India-EU (European Union) FTA completed,” said UK Investment Minister Lord Gerry Grimstone.

Speaking at the India-UK annual conference of the industry body CII, he said there had been productive discussions on how the trade pact could serve as a vehicle to connect the two economies and double bilateral trade over the next decade.

India and the UK aim to begin negotiations on the proposed bilateral FTA by November 1. Recently, Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the two countries are heading towards an early harvest trade deal, with a full FTA as the next step.

In an FTA, two or more trading partners significantly reduce or eliminate tariffs on the maximum number of goods traded between them, in addition to liberalizing standards to promote trade in services and investment. In an interim trade pact, tariffs are removed on a limited number of goods.

Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $ 13.11 billion in 2020-21 compared to $ 15.45 billion in 2019-20. The trade balance is in India’s favor, according to data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce.

Our aim is to stimulate investments, exports, solve market access problems, remove trade barriers that hinder growth and unleash the potential for economic growth.Lord Gerry Grimstone, UK Minister for Investment

Grimstone also said that “Our aim is to stimulate investment, export, solve market access problems, remove trade barriers that hinder growth and unlock the potential for economic growth.”

India is working to create a strong FTA with the UK, said Gaitri Issar Kumar, India’s High Commissioner to UK. India is the second largest contributor of FDI to the UK and 850 Indian companies generated net sales of over £ 50 billion.

Read also :