Leather, Pharma & Engineering Goods: Which Sectors Will Gain Most From UK-India Trade Deal?

News18

4 days ago

India stands to benefit from the duty elimination of tariffs on approximately 99 per cent of tariff lines, covering nearly 100 per cent of the trade value
After over three years of intense negotiations, India and the United Kingdom set to sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Thursday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits London. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), more commonly referred to as FTA, ensures comprehensive market access for goods across most sectors, fully addressing India's export interests.
India stands to benefit from the duty elimination of tariffs on approximately 99 per cent of tariff lines, covering nearly 100 per cent of the trade value. This opens up significant opportunities to boost bilateral trade between India and the UK.
In key labour-intensive sectors, duties have been reduced to zero from previously high levels—up to 20 per cent on marine products, 12 per cent on textiles and clothing, 8 per cent on chemicals, and 10 per cent on base metals. In the processed food sector, tariffs on 99.7 per cent of lines have been slashed from as high as 70 per cent to zero, offering a major boost for Indian exporters.
The India–UK CETA offers a transformative opportunity for business across key sectors such as agriculture, food processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering goods, electronics, and marine. By opening access to the UK's import market, the CETA reduces compliance costs and time-to-market, enhancing competitiveness for Indian exporters.
Agriculture and allied sectors stand out as a major beneficiary, with Indian farmers gaining market access for high-value products like vegetables, fruits, basmati rice, cereals, animal products, beverages, oil seeds, and dairy. This directly supports India's ambitious goal of achieving $100 billion in agri exports by 2030.
Importantly, the FTA also puts in place protections to ensure that Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures do not lead to unjustified trade restrictions.
Additionally, the marine sector, particularly Indian fishermen, will benefit from access to a UK market valued at over $5.4 billion. By improving predictability, reducing trade risks, and promoting digital transformation and cross-border innovation, the FTA builds lasting commercial trust and marks a significant milestone in deepening Indo-UK economic cooperation.
MSMEs are poised for a strong uplift through duty-free access in labour-intensive sectors such as leather, textiles, gems & jewellery, furniture, and sports goods—areas where UK imports exceed $23 billion. The FTA further enhances their global competitiveness through bilateral cooperation in trade finance, training, partner identification, and transparent payment practices.
India's MSMEs—from family-owned weaving units and apparel manufacturers in Tirupur to artisanal clusters in Panipat, Bhadohi, and Agra—form the backbone of India's textile and leather exports. The FTA opens duty-free access for these sectors—leveling the playing field for Indian exporters against competitors like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Cambodia.
There also exists a significant potential in the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sector. Indian manufacturers will be able to expand their footprint in the UK, driving growth in both bulk and specialty chemicals, as well as high-quality, affordable generics and innovative pharma products. This strategic opening will not only boost exports but also foster deeper R&D collaboration, making India a key partner in strengthening the UK's healthcare and industrial value chains.
Here's how different sectors stand to gain:
TEXTILES
Zero Duty market access for the textiles and clothing sector accounts for 1,143 tariff lines, contributing 11.7 per cent. This reflects the rich variety of textile and apparel goods in trade and their traditional significance in both domestic manufacturing and export orientation. The FTA eliminates the tariff on textile imports from India, thereby enhancing our competitiveness.
In textiles and clothing, while the UK's total imports ($26.95 billion) are lower than India's global exports ($36.71 billion), India still supplies only $1.79 billion to the UK. With the FTA promising duty-free access and removal of trade barriers, this sector is also well-positioned to increase its footprint.
The sectors poised for exponential growth include Ready-made Garments, Home Textiles, Carpets, and Handicrafts, where the removal of duties creates immediate and substantial competitive advantages.
India is expected to gain at least 5 per cent additional market share in the UK within 1 to 2 years, outperforming competitors like Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Turkey and Bangladesh, particularly in the value-conscious UK retail and brand segment.
Conservative estimates project exports of leather goods and footwear from India to the UK could exceed $900 million, marking a substantial leap forward. In the longer run, India is well-positioned to become one of the top three suppliers to the UK in these sectors.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
The agriculture sector accounts for 1,437 tariff lines, which constitutes 14.8 per cent of all product tariff lines. This indicates a significant presence of agriculture in the trade structure, reflecting the diversity and importance of agri-based goods in tariff regulation.
In agriculture, India exports $36.63 billion globally, while the UK imports $37.52 billion, but imports just $811 million from India, revealing room for growth in high-value agri products.
The UK is a high-value market for niche Indian agri-products such as tea, mangoes, grapes, spices, marine products, etc, and the CETA will allow Indian farmers to fetch premium prices for these products in the UK market.
The India-UK FTA will deliver a seismic shift, granting Indian agri-products parity with major EU exporters like Germany and Netherlands, who currently enjoy zero tariffs. Duty-free access across key categories will raise agri exports by over 20 per cent in the next three years.
India will also be able to outcompete major global players in crucial segments such as fresh grapes, processed food preparations, bakery items, preserved vegetables, fruits, and nuts, fresh/chilled vegetables, sauces and prepared sauces.
MARINE PRODUCTS
The UK is a high-value consumer of Indian frozen seafood, especially shrimp and white fish, due to the large Indian diaspora and demand for processed seafood.
The CETA eliminates UK tariffs, improving the price realisation for Indian exporters, benefits that flow down to coastal fisherfolk through higher procurement rates. Coastal states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha stand to benefit significantly from export-led job creation.
Despite the UK's $5.4 billion marine import market, India's share remains at just 2.25 per cent, underscoring a significant untapped export opportunity.
FOOD PROCESSING
Comprising 985 tariff lines, the food processing sector holds a 10.1 per cent share. This sector includes processed agricultural and food products, highlighting its value-added role within the broader agri-food supply chain. The food processing sector also shows opportunity as India exports $14.07 billion globally, while the UK imports $50.68 billion, but Indian products make up just $309.5 million.
PLANTATIONS SECTOR
UK already represents a significant market for India, absorbing 1.7 per cent of coffee, 5.6 per cent of tea, and 2.9 per cent of spice exports, now primed for exponential growth with duty free access on these products. Duty-free access on instant coffee will help Indian businesses compete with other European suppliers of Instant/value added coffee such as Germany, Spain, Netherlands.
INDIAN OILSEEDS AND PRODUCE
The UK market can provide a new avenue for Indian Oilseed exporters to reach a broader consumer base and expand their market share. With reduced tariffs and streamlined procedures, Indian Oilseed exporters can become more competitive in the UK market, potentially leading to higher exports.
ENGINEERING GOODS
The engineering goods sector has the highest share among the listed sectors with 1,659 tariff lines, making up 17.0 per cent of the total. This indicates a broad variety of engineering-related items—machinery, components, and equipment—under tariff coverage, underscoring its importance in industrial and trade dynamics.
With tariff elimination (as high as 18 per cent) under the FTA, engineering exports to the UK could nearly double in the next five years, reaching over $7.5 billion by 2029-30.
ELECTRONICS AND SOFTWARE
Zero-duty access is expected to accelerate exports of electronic products, with smartphones, optical fiber cables, and inverters set to strengthen India's foothold in UK market. Ambitious UK commitments for Software and IT-enabled services, meanwhile, will unlock new markets, drive job creation, and enhance export potential for Indian software firms.
PHARMACEUTICALS
The pharma sector has only 56 tariff lines, which is just 0.6 per cent of the total. Despite its relatively small representation in terms of tariff lines, the pharmaceutical sector typically holds high value and strategic importance, especially in global trade.
The zero tariff provisions under the FTA are expected to significantly enhance the competitiveness of Indian generics in the UK market, which remains India's largest pharmaceutical export destination in Europe. Significant share of medical devices like surgical instruments, diagnostic equipments, ECG machines, X-Ray systems will not attract any duty. This will reduce costs for Indian med-tech companies and make their products more competitive in the UK market.
CHEMICALS
With 1,206 tariff lines, the chemicals and allied sector contributes 12.4 per cent to the total. This includes products like fertilisers, industrial chemicals, and petrochemicals, emphasising its substantial role in trade classification and policy.
The FTA is anticipated to trigger a dramatic 30 per cent-40 per cent increase in India's chemical exports to the UK, propelling figures to an estimated USD 650-750 million in the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26.
PLASTICS
Duty-free access presents an opportunity to tap into the UK's robust demand for plastics—films, sheets, pipes, packaging, tableware, and kitchenware—segments where India has proven manufacturing strength. It also allows India to better compete with UK's major import sources such as Germany, China, the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.
SPORTS GOODS AND TOYS
The projected growth is 15 per cent and the target for next five years for the calendar year 2030 is $186.97 million. Exports of soccer balls, cricket gear, rugby balls, and non-electronic toys is set to increase.
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GEMS & JEWELLERY
India's total G&J exports to UK are valued at $941 million, with $400 million coming from jewellery. The FTA opens up a huge market as UK imports approximately $3 billion worth of jewellery annually. Tariff relaxations under the FTA are projected to double India's gems and Jewellery exports to the UK within the next 2-3 years.
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tags :
Food processing gems and jewellery India-UK Trade Deal leather
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New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
July 24, 2025, 11:35 IST
News business Leather, Pharma & Engineering Goods: Which Sectors Will Gain Most From UK-India Trade Deal?
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