‘It’s a goal but…’: India on Diwali deadline for free trade pact with UK

External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi made it clear that negotiations with Britain on the FTA have not come to a halt but indicated that the deal is not likely to be finalised by the end of October

NEW DELHI: India said on Friday that negotiations are continuing with the UK for finalising a free trade agreement (FTA) at an early date while ensuring that the deal is beneficial for both countries.

Talks for the India-UK free trade talks picked pace during Boris Johnson’s tenure as UK prime minister

The two countries earlier said they were working towards finalising the FTA by Diwali, which will be celebrated at the end of October, but there are now indications this deadline is unlikely to be met.

The deal has run into rough weather due to differences between the two sides on issues such as automobiles and mobility of professionals, and UK home secretary Suella Braverman’s controversial remarks on immigration.

“There are ongoing negotiations on the FTA, there is interest on both sides to see if we can work towards a deal that is beneficial for both countries at an early date,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a weekly news briefing in response to a question.

“But this is a trade negotiation, it is best that such matters are left between the trade ministers of both countries,” he said.

While declining to comment on Braverman’s recent comments opposing the FTA on the ground that it would increase immigration to the UK, Bagchi said the “larger issue of mobility and consular matters” was a separate matter.

“There are understandings between both countries and going forward, this will require mutual implementation of these understandings,” he said, without giving details.

Bagchi made it clear that negotiations on the FTA have not come to a halt but indicated that the deal is not likely to be finalised by the end of October. “There was a general goal of trying to get it done by Diwali. It’s a goal but goals are dependent on the negotiations,” he said.

The UK side too has said it would prefer to have a “good deal rather than an artificial deadline”, Bagchi noted.

In London, UK trade secretary Kemi Badenoch also said the goal was no longer to finalise a draft agreement by October 24 despite the fact that negotiations were going well. “We are close. We’re still working on a deal. One of the things that has changed is that we are no longer working to the Diwali deadline,” she told BBC.

Badenoch said the two sides had closed negotiations on a “lot of chapters” in the negotiating text. “The negotiations are progressing well but we want to focus on the quality of the deal rather than the speed of the deal. Given the changes that have taken place – not just in government but the mourning period (for the British queen) and so on, it makes sense for us to focus on the deal rather than the day,” she said.

In a separate development, external affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke on the phone with his British counterpart James Cleverly. “Reviewed various aspects of our bilateral relationship and committed to taking forward Roadmap 2030 expeditiously. Look forward to an early in-person meeting,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.

Braverman’s remarks – especially a comment expressing concern about having an “open borders migration policy with India” and that Indian migrants were the largest group overstaying their visas – didn’t go down well in New Delhi. People familiar with the matter said differences remained between the two sides on the issue of mobility of professionals and students, which involves the legal and temporary movement of citizens for legitimate reasons.