ETP expected to lead to FTA
Businesses are looking forward to the Governments of the United Kingdom and India implementing an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) that addresses market access barriers in the short- and medium-term and begins the journey to an eventual Free Trade Agreement, said the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) on 3 May 2021.
The UKIBC issued a statement ahead of the UK and Indian Prime Ministers virtual meeting on 4 May 2021.
“With our economies growing and the barriers reducing, we at the UKIBC expect to see a step-change in the volume and nature of the trade and investment relationship. Alongside the reduction and removal of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to goods trade, it is important that the ETP recognises the critical importance, to both countries, of knowledge- and technology-driven trade, such as digital, data, and financial services.
“By reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, including the alignment of standards, the benefits will be felt across many sectors, most notably digital and ICT, food and drink, defence, healthcare and pharma, and advanced manufacturing,” said the UKIBC.
The ETP is therefore important as it will create jobs and prosperity in both countries. “We at the UKIBC look forward to supporting the implementation of the ETP on this exciting and important journey to an FTA (Free Trade Agreement),” said the UKIBC.
The trade and investment partnership is particularly important, and the UKIBC hopes that the two Prime Ministers meeting on 4 May 2021 will provide more details of the ETP initiated by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industries, and his UK counterpart, Liz Truss, Secretary of State for International Trade.
“Our two countries are starting from a position of strength. UK-India trade grew by 10% to GBP 24 billion in the year before the pandemic. India is the second largest investor in the UK and, over the last decade, the UK has been the second fastest growing G20 investor in India.
“Nevertheless, there is great potential to do even better. The UK and India are the 5th and 6th largest economies in the world, they are both growing, and there is great complementarity between them,” said the UKIBC.
As India is the world’s third-highest military spender and its Government increased the FDI cap from 49% to 74% in 2020, there is significant scope for even more UK investments and UK-India co-creation of defence and aerospace technologies.
Beyond national security considerations, defence, aerospace and security are critical sectors for India’s industrial objectives as set out in Government’s Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat missions.
“A flourishing Indian defence sector requires increased foreign technology transfer and foreign investment that will meet not just the needs of India but will also be exported to other countries,” said the council.
UK businesses, like Rolls Royce, BAE systems, Babcock, MBDA and Thales are deeply committed to India. “And the inclusion of defence and security as one of the priorities in the UK-India 10-year roadmap, announced by the Foreign and External Affairs Ministers in December 2020, will, we hope, greatly enable business to business activity,” it said. #investment #trade #exports #FTA #banking #manufacturing /fiinews.com
