New Delhi, July 25 (KNN) India and UK have signed a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in presence of Prime Ministers of both the countries.
Besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the agreement was signed by Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr. Piyush Goyal and Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Mr. Jonathan Reynolds.
Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs and Ms. Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer were also present.
Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME)- the national MSMEs has termed the agreement ‘historic’.
“India-UK FTA is particularly promising in the Labour-Intensive Sectors including textiles, leather, footwear, gems & jewellery, marine products, and toys”, says President Sandeep Kishore Jain, President, FISME.
Indian products currently face import duties in the UK ranging from 4 percent to 70 percent.
These include: 20 percent on marine products and leather footwear, 12 percent on textiles and apparel, 70 percent on processed food, 14 percent on electrical machinery and chemicals, and 4 percent on jewellery.
Under the new trade agreement, duties on all these products will be reduced to zero.
The agreement provides comprehensive market access for Indian Goods with Zero-duty access on 99 percent of tariff lines, covering nearly 100 percent of the trade value.
A 15 member FISME delegation led by President Jain and Vice President Rakesh Chhabra was present in the British High Commission in New Delhi to witness the historic moment of signing the agreement by the PMs of respective countries.
“The agreement is quite bold and opens opportunities in Public Procurement also for the businesses in each other’s markets”, FISME highlighted.
CETA offers a wide-ranging package covering IT/ITeS, financial and professional services, business consulting, education, telecom, architecture, and engineering—unlocking high-value opportunities and job creation.
FISME is planning to organise a series of India-UK FTA information dissemination programmes in August.
(KNN Bureau)
