India, UK eye early ratification of FTA

PM Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, on Thursday hailed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) as the blueprint for mutual prosperity and expressed optimism about the “early ratification” of the free trade agreement (FTA) to unlock its economic benefits. Signed in July, the pact awaits ratification from the UK Parliament, which may take a few more months and may come into effect by July.

“Both leaders look forward to the ratification of the India-UK CETA as early as possible to realise its benefits. The PMs also welcomed the resetting of the joint economic and trade committee,” said the India-UK joint statement. They also welcomed the meeting of the CEO Forum in Mumbai on the sidelines of the India-UK Summit, it said.

Modi said CETA would reduce import costs between India and the UK and create new employment opportunities. It would boost trade and benefit the industries and consumers of both countries, he said.

“Under Starmer’s leadership, India-UK relations have made significant progress. During my visit to the UK in July, we concluded the historic CETA. ...This is not just a trade agreement but a roadmap for shared progress, shared prosperity and shared peoples of two of the world’s largest economies,” Modi said.

“Beyond the words on the page of the agreement is the spirit and the confidence that has been given to our two great countries to work even more closely together, something which we have seen during the course of this visit here over the last two days,” Starmer said.

Meanwhile, in a significant step towards operationalising the CETA, India and the UK on Thursday signed Terms of Reference (ToR) to reposition the Joint Economic and Trade Committee.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal termed the “institutional reset” a game-changer, strengthening the framework for strategic engagement, driving the implementation of the India-UK CETA and boosting joint ambition to significantly enhance bilateral trade between India and the UK.

The repositioning of JETCO aims to realise the full potential of the CETA signed between India-UK in July this year that aims to double the bilateral trade to $112 billion by 2030. The CETA provides duty-free access to 99 per cent of India’s exports to the UK.