UK to relaunch trade talks with India at start of next year

The UK is set to relaunch trade talks with India, Downing Street has announced.

It was confirmed that discussions will reopen at the start of next year, following a bilateral meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and Indian PM Narendra Modi at the G20 summit.

The Government is seeking a “new strategic partnership” with New Delhi that goes beyond trade and also looks at areas such as security and education.

The Prime Minister has said that a deal between the fifth and sixth largest economies in the world would help support jobs in the UK, with a trading relationship with India worth £42 billion in the 12 months to June 2024, according to Downing Street.

Sir Keir said: “Boosting economic growth is key to improving living standards for working people.

“A new trade deal with India will support jobs and prosperity in the UK – and represent a step forward in our mission to deliver growth and opportunity across our country.”

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has described India as a “vital trading partner for the UK”.

In a statement marking the announcement, he said: “Whether it’s lowering Indian tariffs to help British firms export to this dynamic market or boosting investment which already supports over 600,000 jobs across both countries, striking a deal is important to deliver this Government’s core mission of driving economic growth.”

In July, Mr Reynolds had said that the UK intended “to forge better trading relationships with countries around the world”.

When asked about what deals could mean for access to the UK labour market Downing Street has said that the talks and any deals will be “rooted in the UK national interest” and said that the position on migration has not changed.

“The Government’s position on reducing net migration comes first and foremost,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said. “We obviously only agree deals that are rooted in the UK national interest”.

Discussions between New Delhi and London over a trade deal had stalled under the last government.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson had previously said that he wanted a deal done by October 2022 to coincide with Diwali celebrations. Although Rishi Sunak’s administration had declined to set a target date for signing off on an agreement.

Earlier this year the UK and India signed off on a scheme aimed at strengthening co-operation on artificial intelligence and technologies.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to India and the “technology security initiative” was agreed by both nations’ national security advisers following negotiations.

The announcement comes ahead of the second day of the G20 summit, where Sir Keir is expected to hold talks with more foreign leaders.

The PM told Chinese President Xi Jinping he wanted “respectful” relations with Beijing when they took part in a bilateral talk on Monday.

The Prime Minister raised the case of detained pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai in a sign he was prepared to challenge China over human rights abuses, but he also signalled a desire for greater business co-operation.

Sir Keir also suggested a full UK-China meeting in London or Beijing as part of his desire for “consistent, durable, respectful” ties between the two countries.

However, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the PM should have been “stronger in raising our concerns over human rights” following the meeting.

She said in a statement: “Britain’s standing on the world stage risks being weakened if the Prime Minister does not robustly defend our national interest.”

“While it is important to have a constructive diplomatic dialogue with China, the Prime Minister should have been stronger in raising our concerns over human rights, the repressive nature of the national security laws imposed on Hong Kong, and the security, safety and wellbeing of British nationals, like Jimmy Lai, who should be freed from custody.”

The meeting with Mr Xi came ahead of talks with other nations including Australia and Japan.

As well as the economy, Ukraine featured in a number of Sir Keir’s discussions with world leaders on Monday.

According to readouts issued by Downing Street, leaders in both the Japan and Australia meetings agreed to “double down” on support for Kyiv.

As Tuesday marks 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Prime Minister has faced questions on whether Storm Shadow missiles will be signed off for use against Russian targets by Ukraine, after President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons.

The PM declined to get into “operational details” when asked by broadcasters on Monday “because the only winner, if we were to do that, is (Vladimir) Putin, and I’m not prepared to do that”.