Without putting a deadline to the ongoing negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK, UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch on Thursday said the trade pact talks are in the final stages. On the outcome of the ongoing G20 Trade and Investment Ministers’ Meeting, Badenoch also said that it is “very difficult to get many countries to agree on a communique”. India and the UK are “actively” discussing business mobility under the proposed FTA, the UK minister said, clarifying that the overall visa liberalisation issues do not come under the ambit of trade pacts. She said that both countries are working to accommodate issues with regard to bilateral investment treaty and business mobility so that it works for both the nations. “With any negotiation, the hardest bit tends to come at the end. We have closed many chapters. We've done many, perhaps more simple tasks, we’ve come to accommodations in several areas, and we are now in the final stages. I can't give a deadline, anything can happen…I am working closely with my counterpart, Minister Piyush Goyal to make sure we can deliver something that both countries will find mutually beneficial,” she said. When asked about the outcome at the ongoing G20 meeting amidst differences between member countries over the Russia-Ukraine war, the UK minister said getting many countries to agree on a communique is difficult. “From our perspective, what we are really emphasising…is how significant the war in Russia-Ukraine has had an impact on UK trade, European trade, global trade. So given who the members of the G20 are, of course, it's going to be difficult,” she said. Badenoch is currently on a three-day visit to India August 24 onwards, currently attending the G20 trade ministerial meeting in Jaipur after which she will travel to Delhi and hold meetings with business representatives and Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Negotiations are currently happening between India and the UK for the proposed FTA. Both countries are looking to iron out differences over investment treaties, rules of origin, intellectual property rights and other issues. Indian industry has punished for easy access for domestic professionals, while the UK side has sought duty relief for whisky and liquor imports to India. Out of the total 26 chapters in the proposed FTA, 19 have been closed.
