India’s UK trade pact seen as fuelling momentum for bigger deals with US and EU

Experts say the agreement signals New Delhi’s growing leverage in trade and supply chain talks

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Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and British Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds pose with traditional folk artists during a visit to the National Crafts Museum and Hastkala Academy in New Delhi, India, on February 24, 2025. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:46pm, 7 May 2025Updated: 12:22am, 8 May 2025

India’s landmark trade pact with Britain – three years in the making – could pave the way for similar agreements with the United States and European Union, analysts have said, as New Delhi looks to cement its role in reconfigured global supply chains.

Announced on Tuesday, the free-trade agreement aims to reduce tariffs and ease market access between the world’s fifth- and sixth-largest economies, with both sides touting its potential to create jobs, boost investment and spur innovation.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the deal as “ambitious and mutually beneficial”, while his British counterpart Keir Starmer hailed it as a significant step in a “new era for trade” between the two nations.

Though final legal touches are still pending, UK officials say the deal marks Britain’s most significant trade achievement since it left the EU in 2020.

The agreement is expected to boost investment, generate jobs and support technology transfer between the two countries, according to Pratik Dattani, founder of London-based think tank Bridge India.

Britain’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds meets Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal for trade talks in London on April 28. Photo: Reuters

He added that the intensifying US-China trade war likely gave fresh momentum to the talks, as more countries sought to diversify their markets and reduce reliance on the world’s two largest economies.

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