The Indian general election schedule of seven phases starting from April 19 means the trade talks with the UK have been deferred until the polls conclude in the world’s largest democracy, with results declared on June 4.
As the Election Commission of India unveiled the timetable for the country’s mammoth democratic exercise over the weekend, UK officials confirmed that the 14th round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations have now closed. While it is anticipated that some informal discussions might take place between rounds, the next round of FTA negotiations can begin only after the results in June.
“The UK and India are continuing to work towards an ambitious trade deal. Whilst we don’t comment on the details of live negotiations, we are clear that we will only sign a deal that is fair, balanced and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy," a UK Department of Business and Trade (DBT) spokesperson said.
India’s Commerce Ministry indicated that most of the difficult matters in the negotiations were moving towards resolution as both sides remain actively engaged for a “fair and equitable deal”.
It followed a phone call between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Rishi Sunak last week, during which the leaders reiterated their commitment towards “securing a historic and comprehensive deal”.
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The UK-India FTA negotiations opened in January 2022, under then prime minister Boris Johnson, with a goal of enhancing the bilateral trade in goods, services and investment from the current levels of an estimated £38.1 billion a year.
“The bigger the country, the more complex the trade agreement. And also, the more different the economy is, the harder it is to negotiate,” UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said during a trade conference in London earlier this month.
“We can actually sign an agreement before the Indian election. I suspect that that is not necessarily going to be the case because I don't want to use any election as a deadline,” she said at the time.
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This followed a team of her officials flying down to New Delhi to try and iron out the remaining hurdles in the way of signing an FTA before the Indian election campaign kicks in. The teams on both sides have been lauded for their hard work over two years, during which time around 26 chapters have been agreed and closed. The remaining issues that are holding up a deal are believed to be more contentious ones around India significantly lowering tariffs on certain British goods and Britain offering a level playing field to Indian professionals.