Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is on a five -day visit to Europe from Monday, where he will take part in several meetings in London, Oslo and Brussels. The visit of the Commerce Minister is taking place with the aim of pushing trade and investment dialogues with the UK and Europe. The Union Minister is accompanied by a business delegation of representatives of prominent Indian companies.
According to sources, Goyal in London will hold high-level talks with UK government ministers and officials. Their meeting is scheduled with UK Commerce Minister Jonathan Reynolds, where he will review the status of negotiations on the Indo-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is believed to be in the final stage.
A spokesman for the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DBT) said before a ministerial meeting, “This government is committed to making a proper agreement with India that improves the reach of UK businesses, cuts and business is cheaper and easy.” The spokesperson said, “Talks have been going on since the resumption starts from February, and we will only compromise that in the interest of the British people and promote development in the entire UK.”
The purpose of re-starting the negotiations stalled due to general elections in the two countries last year is an agreement that can significantly increase the India-UK trade partnership of an annual 41 billion pounds, more than 4 lakh 65 thousand crore rupees.
Goyal’s visit is taking place soon after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to London, where he said that “a positive spirit, enthusiasm and dedication to finalize the FTA as soon as possible” is on both sides “.
According to officials associated with negotiations, dialogues are moving at a fast pace and some of the remaining issues are expected to be resolved at the ministerial level.
There will also be talks with Europe about business
After the UK, Goyal will leave for Oslo, where he will review the progress of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway – signed with the signed business and economic partnership agreement (TEPA).
In the final stages of the journey, the ministers will go to Brussels, where their meetings will focus on the business talks going on with 27 member countries of the European Union (EU). This is taking place after the European Commission Chairman Ursula von Der Leyen’s visit to India in February, in which both sides announced a plan to sign a free trade agreement by the end of this year.
With regard to re -initiated dialogues in the UK, the UK trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds met Piyush Goyal in Delhi earlier this year. According to a senior trade representative, the UK officials told the British companies that there has been a “important change” in the will of India to give concessions.
Is there a trump tariff behind it?
He said, “There is a feeling among the British authorities that the Indian government now wants to finalize the agreement in any way,” and behind this, the global trade war of US President Donald Trump was described as the main reason. “You need an additional speed of business development from somewhere,” he said.
However, India will not hurry in any trade agreement with the UK. During a major economic dialogue with Britain’s Chancellor Racchal Reaves in London earlier this month, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “It is not that we are hurrying in FTA with the UK just because Trump has done something in America.”
How much is India-UK Trade
The commodity trade between India and the United Kingdom (UK) stood at US $ 15.45 billion in the year 2019-20, in which the trade balance was in India’s favor. During the period from April to August 2020, the export of goods from India to the UK to US $ 2.33 billion and imports from the UK at US $ 1.47 billion, leading to the total bilateral trade to US $ 3.80 billion.
According to the 2019-2020 Inward Investment data from the UK Department for International Trade (DIT), India invested in 120 projects in the UK and created 5,429 new jobs, making it the second largest source of FDI (FDI) in the UK after the US.
According to the ‘India Meat UK Report 2020’ released by CII-Grant Thornton, the UK now has a record 850 Indian companies, whose total income is around £ 41.2 billion. These companies paid more than £ 461.8 million corporation tax and employed 110,793 people.
The UK is the sixth largest country to invest foreign direct investments in India – after Mauritius, Singapore, Netherlands, Japan and America. The total equity investment from UK to India from April 2000 to June 2020 stood at US $ 28.39 billion, which is about 6% of the total FDI in India.
According to the Global Britain and India Report (April 2019 – GBI0015), around 600 UK companies are working in India, who have created more than 8 lakh jobs. One in every 20 jobs in the organized sector is believed to be generated through UK companies.
(Agency, with mea input)
First Published – April 28, 2025 | 7:41 PM IST
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