UK and Indian delegates advance draft treaty text for FTA, next meet scheduled for June

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
May 11, 2022

The Republic of India and the United Kingdom concluded the third round of talks concerning the proposed India-UK Free Trade Agreement and, advancing the draft treaty text, scheduled the next meet for June. 

The fourth round of negotiations concerning the FTA will take place in the UK in June, 2022, the British Department for International Trade announced on the UK Government’s website on March 11. The round of talks held last week were carried out in a hybrid fashion with some of the participating teams meeting in New Delhi and the majority joining in sessions virtually.
 
“For this round of negotiations, draft treaty text was advanced across the majority of chapters,” the UK Government announced on its official website. “Technical experts from both sides came together for discussions in 60 separate sessions covering 23 policy areas.”

In April, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he hopes the FTA would be in place by the end of the current calendar year. The FTA would make Indian exporters more competitive in the international market and increase opportunities to exports goods in a variety of sectors to the UK.