The UK’s mission to complete new trade deals following its departure from the European Union has seen new developments, with progress being made on free trade deals with India and Canada.
India and the UK have concluded the second round of talks for a proposed free trade agreement and have lined up a third.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) says Britain hopes to seal a deal with one of the world’s fastest-growing economies to boost their existing trade relationship by £28bn by 2035.
What the deal involves
International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan has met her Canadian counterpart, Mary Ng, to formally launch talks to strengthen a trading relationship already worth over £19 billion in 2020.
Building on the benefits of the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement, the new Free Trade Agreement is planned to go further than ever before in areas like innovation, digital, data, the environment and women’s economic empowerment.
For example, the adoption of digital trading systems can make trade cheaper, faster and more secure for businesses.
This could see more than 10,000 UK small and medium-sized businesses benefiting from lower barriers to trade such as:
- Simplified paperwork
- Encouraging more businesses to start trading with Canada.
Investment to support UK jobs
The UK is Canada’s third-largest trading partner and Canadian demand for imports is projected to grow by 45 per cent by 2035. Canadian-owned businesses employ 108,000 people across the UK and additional investment resulting from a new deal could support jobs across the country and help level up the UK.
On the India trade talks, technical experts from both sides came together for discussions in 64 separate sessions covering 26 policy areas. The talks were in London with some virtual elements.
A DIT statement said that draft treaty text was shared and discussed across most chapters that will make up the agreement.
Agreement could slash tariffs
Trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan officially announced the launch of talks in January and there are hopes that an interim agreement could slash tariffs on British exports such as whisky and cars.
However, achieving a deal with India is not a given as the country has proved resistant to such overtures in the past and is highly protectionist.
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