UK and India sign free trade agreement in a snub to Trump
Negotiations between London and the world's fifth-largest economy, which have been ongoing for three years, concluded on Tuesday, May 6. The United Kingdom is claiming the most significant free trade agreement since Brexit, amid the protectionist retreat triggered by the American president.
The long-awaited trade deal with the United States is struggling to materialize. The rapprochement with the European Union (EU) is in its infancy, ahead of a key summit scheduled for May 19 in London. “But in the meantime, the United Kingdom has just sealed a major free trade agreement with India, the most significant since leaving the EU,” which occurred in 2021, the weekly magazine The Spectator reports .
The culmination of three years of negotiations, the agreement unveiled on Tuesday, May 6 , “will reduce or eliminate customs duties on 92% of British products exported to India,” calculates the liberal daily The Times .
Gin and whisky producers, as well as luxury car manufacturers, are celebrating, with a drastic reduction in the taxes applied to their goods. “In total, bilateral trade, currently worth 40 billion pounds annually, is expected to increase by 25.5 billion pounds a year,” continues The Guardian .
“It's not much compared to the £315 billion traded with the US, but it's a good start.”
The official signing of the treaty, announced in a particular context, just a few hours before the artillery exchanges between
Courrier International
