India-UK free trade pact new gold standard for trade deals, says British envoy

Two-way trade is currently worth £48 billion, and Lindy Cameron said the FTA is expected to increase trade by more than £25 billion pounds annually in the long run

Published on: Jul 15, 2026, 19:52:13 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar, NEW DELHI

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The India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), which entered into force on Wednesday, is the “new gold standard” for trade deals and has bolstered trust that will drive bilateral engagement in other crucial sectors such as maritime security and technology, UK high commissioner Lindy Cameron said.

British high commissioner Lindy Cameron also described the FTA as the “biggest and the most ambitious, modern free trade agreement” to enter into force for both countries. (ANI Video Grab)

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was signed in July 2025 and grants Indian exports immediate duty-free access to nearly 99% of the UK’s tariff lines, while India will provide preferential market access for almost 90% of British exports over time to protect sensitive sectors.

“The UK-India FTA is the new gold standard of trade deals — pro-worker, pro-innovation and pro-growth.  It’s a force multiplier and a template for future trade deals,” Cameron told a media briefing hours after the deal came into force.

Cameron also described the FTA as the “biggest and the most ambitious, modern free trade agreement” to enter into force for both countries. “It’s an opportunity to grow our economies, to drive maritime security, to keep supply chains secure together from global economic shocks we’re seeing at the moment…but the FTA is not the ceiling, it’s the floor of our ambitions,” she said.

Two-way trade is currently worth £48 billion, and Cameron said the FTA is expected to increase trade by more than £25 billion pounds annually in the long run.

India and the UK see their Vision 2035 as the basis for a much wider partnership, Cameron said, referring to a 10-year roadmap adopted last year that has five pillars focused on economic growth, technology such as AI, defence and security, climate and clean energy, and education.

“What’s really fantastic to see is the warmth on both sides politically, since that deal was signed. The sense of partnership that it created has really done so much in every area of collaboration between the UK and India, whether that’s the Technology and Security Initiative, or the UK universities, or the wider Vision 2035 sectors that we’re looking at,” she said.

Cameron noted that UK trade minister Chris Bryant had said that the FTA sends a message to the world that the rules-based order works. “I think those rules, when they are about international trade, are in everybody’s interest and certainly very much in the UK and India’s interest,” she said.

The British envoy highlighted some of the key benefits of the trade deal, including a huge reduction in import duties on products such as Scotch whisky, which have been cut from 150% to 75%, and premium UK-built cars, which have fallen from more than 110% to 10% under a new quota.

Besides the reduction of duties on British cosmetics, homewear and sports goods, 98% of environmental green goods are being liberalised and will support India’s energy transition, especially through the export of turbines, generators and components needed for renewable storage and green projects.

The FTA will also make it easier for British companies to bid in the Indian procurement market, which is worth £38 billion annually, and simultaneously provide guaranteed Indian access to the UK procurement market.

“India is delivering one of the biggest urban infrastructure expansions in the world, and tariffs on lots of infrastructure products will be reduced or removed, helping British specialist equipment, engineering solutions and innovative technologies become much more invested here,” she said.

The FTA also improves mobility of professionals, making it easier for engineers, consultants and professional services teams across both markets to work seamlessly together, Cameron said.

Besides pitching for greater collaboration between Indian states and regions in the UK to take advantage of the trade deal, Cameron said Britain will send its first joint mayoral-led mission from across northern England to India in October to showcase the benefits of the FTA and to understand the opportunities in India.

“That will strengthen links in trade, investment, innovation, education, culture and tourism,” Cameron said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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