UK, India strike trade deal amid US tariff blitz.
The UK on Tuesday agreed a free trade agreement with India, its biggest such deal since leaving the European Union, after negotiations relaunched in February following US tariff threats.
Britain has sought to bolster trade ties across the world since it left the EU at the start of the decade, a need that strengthened after the United States unleashed tariffs that risk weaker economic growth.
“Today we have agreed a landmark deal with India — one of the fastest growing economies in the world, which will grow the economy and deliver for British people and business,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
His Labour government added it is “the biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal the UK has done since leaving the EU”.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the deal as “ambitious and mutually” beneficial.
The pact will help “catalyse trade, investment, growth, job creation, and innovation in both our economies”, Modi said in a post on social media platform X.
His office said in a statement the deal will “unlock new potential for the two nations to jointly develop products and services for global markets”.
The UK and India are the sixth and fifth largest global economies respectively, with a trade relationship worth around £41 billion ($54.8 billion) and investment supporting more than 600,000 jobs across both countries.
Source: Thepeninsularqatar