PNN – The British government announced on Tuesday the signing of a free trade deal with India, which London officials said was the country’s largest and most important bilateral economic agreement since leaving the European Union.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, the agreement, which was finalized after three years of negotiations and in light of recent economic and political developments between the two countries, includes a gradual reduction in tariffs on 90 percent of British goods exported to India. According to the UK Department of Trade, the majority of these tariffs will be reduced to zero over the next decade.
According to the official assessment of the British government, the new agreement could add £4.8 billion to the UK’s GDP annually. It is also predicted that the volume of trade between the two countries will increase by £25.5 billion with the implementation of the agreement.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the agreement as part of the government’s “transformation plan” to rebuild the economy, saying: We have entered a new era for trade and the economy. The signing of this agreement shows that the UK, with stable and pragmatic leadership, has become an attractive place to invest.
The deal is also politically significant for the Starmer government, as it could help to offset some of the criticism of leaving the EU and its negative economic impact. India has also called the deal “game-changing” and a step towards deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries.
According to the Indian government, this agreement, in addition to expanding trade, provides investment opportunities, job creation, and innovation for both sides and is considered “the largest trade agreement in India’s history.”
The trade ministers of the two countries concluded the latest round of talks in London last week. According to the International Monetary Fund, India will become the world’s third-largest economy within the next three years, and signing this agreement with a country that is currently the world’s sixth-largest economy is also considered a strategic achievement for New Delhi and London from a geo-economic perspective.
At the same time, some analysts believe that this agreement, although presented as an economic achievement, is essentially an attempt to repair the image of the British government after negative results in local elections and with the aim of demonstrating success in the field of foreign policy.
What has also attracted the most attention is what concessions the Starmer government made to reach this agreement and whether it will face more difficult negotiations with the European Union and the United States in the future, especially in a situation where Donald Trump’s return to power has cast doubts on the global trade outlook.