Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: With General Elections in India round the corner, New Delhi has asked London to hasten the pace of negotiations for finalising the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries before the Model Code of Conduct comes in force.
Sensing the urgency, a top-level team from the UK, led by Douglas McNeill, Chief Economic Advisor to British PM Rishi Sunak, is now in India.
According to media reports, the team met top decision-makers in New Delhi. Talks have also been held with Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and the Finance, and the Commerce Ministry. The ongoing 14th round of negotiations – which initiated on January 10 – is aimed at closing the deal.
ECI code restriction
Once the Election Commission of India announces the date for parliamentary elections, the code come in force. In that situation, the bureaucracy may not be able to engage in an activity that could be seen as working to the advantage of the ruling party.
Though the code lacks any statutory backing, the EC can censure the person or the entities found violating it. Elections are also expected in the United Kingdom later this year.
The FTA talks, which began in January 2022 to negotiate a broad agreement that will deliver for businesses and consumers, have been closely monitored by the two premiers – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak.
It is their support that helped the two countries aim at doubling bilateral trade by 2030 through FTA. Incidentally, bilateral trade between the two nations increased to $20.36 billion in 2022-23 from $17.5 billion in 2021-22.
FTA is a pact between two or more countries to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them. Under this, goods and services can be bought and sold across international borders with little or no government tariffs, quotas, subsidies, or prohibitions.
Both countries are intent on resolving differences on issues like Britain’s demand for significant customs duty concessions on Scotch whisky and electric vehicles (EVs), liberalisation of norms in service sectors like banking, insurance, legal, and Indian demand for easy movement of professionals, said reports.
Of the 26 chapters in the agreement – which included goods, services, investments, and intellectual property rights – most have already been sealed.
