Textile shares outlook: Analysts expect the Indian textile sector to benefit if India manages to sign a favourable trade deal with the US.
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations concluded with India places the UK at a genuine competitive advantage in the manufacturing sector, the House of Commons was told this week. During a debate on the bilateral FTA agreed last month, UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds fielded a series of questions on the advantages of the deal which has been pegged to increase bilateral trade by GBP 25.5 billion annually in the long term. Reynolds reiterated that the pact marked a huge economic win for the UK as the best deal that India has ever offered. On advanced manufacturing a set of advantageous positions has been agreed, putting this country at a genuine competitive advantage, particularly in relation to sectors such as automotive and machinery, said Reynolds, in response to a question by British Sikh Labour MP for Smethwick, West Midlands, Gurinder Singh Josan. India is traditionally a very protectionist economy, and it is the world's fastest growing big economy. Whethe
British Airways, which has been flying to India for more than 100 years, will look to further expand routes and frequency of flights as well as tap the cargo opportunities from the India-UK free trade agreement, the airline's Chairman and CEO, Sean Doyle has said. Currently, the airline operates 56 flights a week from five Indian cities, including three-weekly flights from Mumbai, double daily services from Delhi. It also has daily flight from Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. In an exclusive interview to PTI, Doyle said India is a "very, very important" market for British Airways and hopes to continue with expansion in the future in terms of both routes and flight frequencies. From October this year, the airline is set to re-introduce first class seats in one of the flights in the Mumbai-London Heathrow route, after a gap of nearly five years. "I think we want to be part of the growth of aviation in India. We have been part of it for 100 years... about 2,500 people work for Britis
The management said there is a considerable amount of effort required to improve the margins further over the next few years as the company continue to consolidate and grow the business
Duties on UK-made whisky and gin will drop from 150% to 75%, and then to 40% over 10 years under India-UK Free Trade Agreement; Diageo to pass on savings
India's apparel and home textiles shipments to the UK attract an 8-12 per cent import duty, that would be scrapped under the FTA expected to come into force in calendar year 2026
The India-UK free trade agreement augurs well to keep driving JLR's performance in India as it would benefit future cars and enable customers to access global cars and global prices much faster, Tata Motors Group CFO PB Balaji said on Tuesday. On the other hand, further details and clarifications are needed to fully understand the impact on JLR after the US-UK trade deal that reduced US trade tariffs on auto exports from the UK to 10 per cent from 27.5 per cent within a quota of 1 lakh vehicles, Balaji said in an earnings call. "As far as India-UK FTA is concerned, it is a great development and augurs well for JLR...At the same time, we also wait when the FTA actually comes into force, but we believe this is going to benefit the future cars that are going to come, which means customers will be able to access these global cars and global prices much faster because of this FTA," he said. Therefore, Balaji said, "It augurs very well for continuing to drive JLR performance in India goin
India has not accepted the demand of the UK for inclusion of a 'data exclusivity' provision in the free trade agreement, announced on May 6, in a bid to protect the interests of the domestic generic drugs industry, an official said. During the negotiations, the UK had asked to include this provision in the trade pact. "But India has not accepted that. There is no fear for the Indian generic industry from this agreement. In fact, it is our very important objective to see that the generic drug industry flourishes," the official said. The sector plays a key role in India's exports, which are also growing. Data exclusivity provides protection to the technical data generated by innovator companies to prove the usefulness of their products. In the pharmaceutical sector, drug companies generate data through expensive global clinical trials to prove the efficacy and safety of their new medicine. By gaining exclusive rights over this data, innovator companies can prevent their competitors
Puri said that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has set a template for future deals and will create opportunities for India to build alternate supply chains
The FTA has come at a time when the economic relations between India and the UK are growing, with their bilateral trade at roughly $60 billion, and projected to double by 2030
The India-UK FTA is being touted as a modern, and the most comprehensive agreement that India has signed till now - comprising non-trade issues such as gender, labour, anti-corruption, sustainability
Mercedes-Benz and BMW have termed the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) a positive development while noting that it would not have much bearing on the prices of luxury cars in the country. Last week, India and the UK sealed a landmark FTA that will lower tariffs on 99 per cent of Indian exports and would make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars and other products to India, besides boosting the overall trade basket. The aim is to double two-way commerce by 2030 from the present USD 60 billion India has included adequate safeguards in the agreement to protect its sensitive sectors and in the automobile segment, the import duty will be reduced over 10-15 years. The duty concession on imports of petrol and diesel engine vehicles from the UK is limited to a pre-defined quota. "Fundamentally, we have always advocated free trade as a multinational company, because we feel that free trade helps in better growth... So I think for us, definitely it's a real welcome move, ...
India should take cues from the US-UK trade pact and exercise caution while negotiating an agreement with America to ensure that the deal is reciprocal, balanced, and not driven solely by political considerations, economic think tank GTRI said on Saturday. The limited trade deal announced between the US and UK on May 8 offers clues about the kind of trade arrangements Washington may pursue with other major partners, most notably India, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. A closer look reveals that while the UK has made sweeping tariff concessions to America, the US has offered far less in return, it added. "If the UK-US deal sets the template, India can expect growing US pressure to finalise a mini-deal of its own - focused on tariff cuts and key strategic commitments rather than a full free trade agreement (FTA) that may come much later," the think tank said. It also cautioned that India may be asked to reduce tariffs on a basket of sensitive agricultural products, .
Free Trade Agreement announced after three years of negotiations, will make it cheaper for UK firms to sell their whiskeys, cars, auto parts, cosmetics, biscuits, clothes and electrical machinery
Despite tax savings from UK-India FTA's social security waiver, analysts say high costs and limited incentives may not significantly boost Indian IT deployments to the UK
Under the Double Contribution Convention Agreement (DCCA), Indian workers temporarily in the UK, and their employers, will be exempt from paying social security contributions for three years
The long-pending deal with the UK was finalised on Tuesday
India grants legally guaranteed access to UK firms for 40,000 tenders annually under FTA, offering preferential status in government procurement
Economic think tank GTRI on Wednesday said allowing UK firms to participate in India's central government procurement tenders could crowd out MSMEs, which rely heavily on protected access to such contracts. After the UAE, India has opened its central government procurement (GP) for British companies under the free trade agreement (FTA) announced on Tuesday, subject to certain conditions. British firms can now bid for tenders, and those with just 20 per cent UK content will be treated as Class 2 Local Suppliers under India's Make in India policy. This effectively extends preferential treatment designed for Indian firms to foreign suppliers. While UK companies gain broad access to India's procurement system, Indian firms remain largely excluded from the UK's closed and highly competitive GP market, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. With little reciprocal benefit, this sets a dangerous precedent for future FTAs and weakens India's leverage to defend domestic interests,
After the UAE, India has opened its central government procurement for British companies under the free trade agreement (FTA) announced on Tuesday, an official said on Wednesday. The official said British firms would be allowed to participate in the procurement of goods and services of the non-sensitive central-level entities only. However, access to state and local government-level entities will be excluded. "Eligible UK suppliers would be allowed to bid for domestic tenders as deemed Class II local suppliers only," the official said, adding carve out is also provided for 'Make in India' policy as well as medium and small enterprises. Earlier, India opened the government procurement segment in the comprehensive trade pact with the UAE. Under that pact, UAE firms are allowed to participate in procurement tenders worth over Rs 200 crore. In 2020, the government modified public procurement norms to give maximum preference to companies whose goods and services have 50 per cent or mor