India and the UK will restart free trade talks on Monday, nearly a year after negotiations were paused ahead of general elections in both countries. Jonathan Reynolds, the UK’s business and trade secretary, is in Delhi, where he will meet his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal to kick off the two-day discussions. Ahead of the meeting, Reynolds said it was a “no-brainer” to seek a trade deal with India, which was forecast to become the world’s third-largest economy in a few years.
The countries have held more than a dozen rounds of negotiations since 2022, but an agreement has remained out of reach. Sticking points include high tariffs in India on Scotch whisky and demands to relax fees and visa rules for Indian students and professionals going to the UK. Talks are being held for the first time after the Labour Party came to power in the UK and Reynolds says securing a deal is a “top priority” for his government. “Growth will be the guiding principle in our trade negotiations with India and I’m excited about the opportunities on offer in this vibrant market,” he said in a statement.
For Delhi, the trade talks have assumed renewed significance on the back of US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose reciprocal or tit-for-tat tariffs on imported goods from countries, including India. The UK is also a high-priority trading partner for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which has an ambitious target to grow exports by $1 trillion by FY30.
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