Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on Friday mentioned that India can face competitors and isn’t the ‘tariff king’, as India’s common tariffs for the UK following the commerce deal are set to drop to three per cent in comparison with the present ranges of 15 per cent.
Barthwal mentioned at a press briefing that India and the UK have managed to strike the “proper stability between strengths and sensitivities”, and that the federal government will start capacity-building of exporters to make full use of the tariff concessions achieved within the UK commerce deal. “FTAs are carried out, however the features from the concessions can solely come via stakeholder involvement. We’ve bought concessions in textiles, leather-based footwear and processed footwear sectors, the place tariffs have been as excessive as 70 per cent. Now, the Commerce and Business Ministry will start capacity-building of our exporters,” Barthwal mentioned.
Barthwal mentioned that fears of dumping are unfounded, because the commerce deal has guidelines of origin and product-specific guidelines in place to handle such issues, including that the deal is predicted to be ratified by the UK authorities inside a yr, because it should go via each Homes of the British Parliament. “The regulatory ecosystem between the 2 nations may also be improved. On this FTA, there are timelines as to when the mutual recognition settlement is meant to be accomplished. This can enhance certainty for companies working in each nations,” Barthwal mentioned.
Sectoral features & sensitivities
Authorities officers mentioned that India’s main exports — from labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems & jewelry, leather-based and footwear, equipment, prescription drugs, and processed meals — are set to achieve a significant edge with zero-duty entry to the UK, bettering the competitiveness of Indian items within the UK market.
“The UK market opens up duty-free for almost all Indian agri-exports, with just some restricted exceptions like pork, hen, eggs, rice, and sugar. A golden alternative for our farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to shine on a worldwide stage,” the Commerce and Business Ministry mentioned.
The ministry mentioned India has safeguarded its delicate sectors — dairy, cereals and millets, pulses, and greens to high-value gadgets like gold, jewelry, lab-grown diamonds, and sure important oils. “Strategic exclusions additionally cowl crucial power fuels, marine vessels, worn clothes, and significant polymers and their monofilaments, smartphones, optical fibres — a powerful stand to guard farmers, MSMEs, and nationwide pursuits,” the ministry mentioned.
Notably, India has opened 89.5 per cent of its tariff traces, protecting 91 per cent of the UK’s exports, and solely 24.5 per cent of the UK’s export worth will get pleasure from fast duty-free market entry. “Strategically necessary merchandise — significantly these the place home capability is being constructed underneath flagship initiatives like Make in India and PLI — will see concessions over durations of 5, 7, and even 10 years with gradual tariff discount,” the ministry mentioned.
Story continues under this advert
Companies sector features
Joint Secretary within the Ministry of Commerce and Business, Darpan Jain, mentioned that the UK has supplied its finest FTA deal to India in comparison with all its commerce companions in companies including that the UK has offered complete and deep market entry in 137 sub-sectors. India has a commerce surplus of round $6.6 billion with the UK, with exports of $19.8 billion and imports of $13.2 billion in FY25.
Jain mentioned the UK’s commitments on mobility are complete and the very best in any FTA. “The UK has offered an assured mobility regime for numerous classes of pure individuals: Enterprise Guests (BV) for all sectors — 90 days in any six-month interval; Intra-Company Transferees (ICT) for all sectors together with accomplice and dependent — three years.”
Govt procurement
The ministry mentioned that the UK has accorded Indian suppliers a authorized assure to take part within the UK procurement market — price roughly $122 billion — for procurements carried out on the Central degree of presidency and sure utilities. India, equally, opens up a market alternative of $114 billion. “For the primary time, the UK agreed to take a binding dedication to offer non-discriminatory remedy to our suppliers underneath the UK’s Social Worth regime. The UK’s threshold for items and companies is roughly Rs 1.6 crore; India’s threshold is roughly Rs 5.5 crore. For procurement associated to development companies, each side have agreed to an identical threshold of Rs 60 crore,” the ministry mentioned.
A authorities official mentioned that India has taken a whole carve-out for its MSME preferential procurement coverage. “With respect to the Make in India coverage, entry to UK suppliers is restricted to eligibility to take part as deemed ‘Class-II native suppliers’ in home tenders above the agreed thresholds. Indian suppliers will proceed to obtain preferential remedy as ‘Class-I native suppliers’ within the UK,” the official defined.