PM Modi Lands In UK, Long-Awaited Free Trade Deal Expected Today: 10 Points

NDTV

23-07-2025

The free trade agreement is India's first major bilateral trade agreement with a developed economy in over a decade.
A 10-point cheat sheet on the free trade agreement to be signed by India and the UK
The free trade agreement between India and the UK will be signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to London on July 24. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will accompany the prime minister.
The two countries announced the conclusion of the negotiations for the trade agreement on May 6, after three years of negotiations.
The trade agreement proposes to remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper, in an effort to double trade between the two economies to USD 120 billion by 2030.
After the free trade agreement is signed by the commerce ministers from both countries, it will require approval from the British Parliament before coming into effect, as the Indian cabinet has already given its consent to the deal.
Britain is the sixth-largest investor in India with investments of around $36 billion. There are 1,000 Indian companies in the country, with 1,00,000 employees, with a total of $2 billion investment.
99% of Indian products will receive duty-free access to the UK market, covering nearly all of India's current trade value.
Apart from the free trade agreement, the biggest the UK has done since leaving the European Union, the two sides also sealed a double contribution convention. It provides for exemption for employers of Indian workers from paying social security contributions in the UK.
India's exports to the U.K. rose by 12.6% to $14.5 billion, while imports grew by 2.3% to $8.6 billion in 2024-25.
The bilateral trade between India and the U.K. increased to $21.34 billion in 2023-24 from $20.36 billion in 2022-23.
From London, PM Modi will travel to the Maldives at the invitation of President Mohamed Muizzu in what is being seen as a breakthrough in the ties between the two countries following a spell of frostiness under Mr Muizzu.