A free-trade deal with India is unlikely to be ready to sign for when Rishi Sunak visits the country in September but UK officials insist good progress is being made.
Talks have begun for the 12th round of trade negotiations, with Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch visiting India for a meeting of G20 ministers this week.
There has been speculation that the two sides may be on the verge of signing a deal, but Government sources said an agreement is not expected imminently and further talks will likely take place.
We’ve made good progress in closing chapters, and are now laser-focused on goods, services, and investment— Department for Business and Trade spokesperson
Government sources also said the talks are entering the most difficult and complex phases.
But no timeline for finalising any deal has been confirmed.
The Prime Minister is expected to visit New Delhi for the G20 leaders’ summit being held on September 9 and 10.
A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “The UK and India are committed to working towards the best deal possible for both sides.
“We’ve made good progress in closing chapters, and are now laser-focused on goods, services, and investment.
“While we cannot comment on ongoing negotiations, we are clear that we will only sign when we have a deal that is fair, balanced, and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy.”
Under Boris Johnson’s premiership, the UK said it was seeking to complete a deal by October last year.
Last year, remarks from Home Secretary Suella Braverman voicing “reservations” about relaxing immigration controls for Indians as part of any agreement were reported to have provoked an angry response from ministers and officials in New Delhi.
Labour’s shadow treasury minister Pat McFadden told Sky News said visas for Indian workers have “always been a key demand when it comes to Indian trade negotiations”.
He said his party would not rule out increasing work visa numbers in order to strike a deal, saying: “You wouldn’t rule it out because you might have other interests that made that sensible.
Trumpeting the latest round of trade talks falls far short of the concrete action needed to get any deal across the line— Nick Thomas-Symonds, shadow international trade secretary
“There are goods and services that we want to export to India that could create huge wealth in the UK if we got the chance to do that, you’ve got to look at these things in the round.”
Shadow international trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “The Conservatives’ record on trade negotiations has been to deliver bad deals or no deals at all.
“They committed to delivering agreements with India and with the United States by the end of 2022, yet failed to meet their own deadline. So them trumpeting the latest round of trade talks falls far short of the concrete action needed to get any deal across the line.”
