The next round of India-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations will begin on Monday with a British delegation

An official has announced that a 30-member official delegation from the UK will begin the second round of discussions for a free trade agreement with the Indian team here on Monday in order to resolve outstanding concerns and hasten the conclusion of the talks between the two nations.

The 13th session of talks between the two nations has ended. To help the discussions move further, a delegation lead by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal was in London last week.

The planned bilateral investment treaty (BIT) negotiations with representatives from the finance ministry are moving more quickly now that the UK team in charge of investment-related issues is in the country.

“Tomorrow’s 30-person team will be there, and both parties are working to resolve any outstanding difficulties, such as rules of origin. Everything has reached the point of closure, the official said.

In order for the final produced item to be referred to as products originating in the FTA nation, the “rules of origin” clause stipulates that only little processing should take place there.

According to this clause, a nation that has signed an FTA with India is not permitted to just label products imported from a third country and dump them on the Indian market. In order to export the goods to India, it must add a certain amount of value. Norms governing rules of origin aid in preventing product dumping.

India and the UK are negotiating a separate deal for the investment pact.

These investment treaties aid in encouraging and safeguarding foreign investments. The primary bone of contention in this agreement is to the dispute resolution process.

The BITs support and safeguard investments in each other’s nations.

India has suggested that before starting an international arbitration, conflicts be resolved via all available domestic legal channels.

Numerous rounds of meetings with the local companies in India have been undertaken to grant tariff exemptions in the vehicle industry.

Experts claim that whereas Indian automakers mostly produce small and mid-size passenger vehicles and two-wheelers for the mainstream market, UK-based automakers like JLR, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and Aston Martin serve the luxury market.

In addition to more market access for a variety of commodities with no customs charges, the Indian industry is requesting more access to the UK market for its qualified people from industries like IT and healthcare.

The UK, on the other hand, is pushing for a big reduction in import taxes on products including scotch whisky, cars, lamb meat, chocolates, and other confectionery items.

In industries including telecommunications, law, and financial services (banking and insurance), Britain is also searching for greater potential for UK services in Indian markets. Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) director-general Vinod Giri said that India may consider lowering the import charges for Scotland Whiskey (bottled) from 150% to 100% immediately and subsequently to 50% in 10 years.

Similarly, as bulk imports are regarded as intermediate items on the local market, the tariffs may be reduced from 100% immediately to 50% in 10 years. Market revenue for alcoholic beverages in India is $52 billion.

India surpassed France as the largest consumer of Scotch whiskey in 2022, according to the Scotch whiskey Association.

Trade between India and the UK grew from $17.5 billion in 2021–2022 to $20.36 billion in 2022–2023 on a bilateral basis.