As the UK-India CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) came into force on 15 th July, 2026, it has been hailed as a historic milestone in India-UK relations with both countries seeking to benefit from greater market access and increased exports. While the public discourse around CETA has been dominated by reduction of tariffs on physical goods on both sides, a deeper structural transformation that the agreement embodies is a framework that significantly boosts services trade, professional mobility and social security protection for Indian workforce. For a country like India whose comparative advantage has been increasingly demonstrated in skills and services, this is the real story that merits attention. If implemented in the spirit of the Agreement text, CETA has the potential to positively reshape opportunities for Indian professionals as well as service providers.
The predictable aspect of CETA as far as services are concerned is improved market access across sectors such as IT, financial services, education, professional services and healthcare. India has secured wide-ranging commitments from the UK, covering all 12 major service sectors and 137 sub-sectors, which represents over 99 per cent of India’s export interests. Article 8.3 of the Agreement sets out the rules for market access in services trade. In general, these rules lend more predictability for suppliers of services and avoids hidden barriers like quotas or forced joint ventures.
