British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to India: Trade deal and investments the main focus

The two-day visit of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Mumbai has created palpable excitement and comes against the backdrop of a free trade agreement between India and the UK.

Starmer comes with a delegation of 125 UK chief executives, business people, university vice-chancellors and cultural leaders. Key names in the delegation include Rolls Royce, British Telecom, Diageo, the London Stock Exchange, and British Airways. British Business and Trade Minister Peter Kyle and Investment Minister Jason Stockwood.

“Following the signing of the landmark trade agreement between the UK and India in July, which will reduce tariffs on British goods imported into India, the door is now open for British businesses to boost their trade with one of the world’s fastest growing economies,” a UK government statement said.

India and the UK signed the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement on July 24, which aims to double bilateral trade to about $130 billion by 2030 from about $56 billion at present. The agreement stipulates that 99% of India’s exports to the UK are exempt from customs duties, covering almost the entire trade basket. India has reduced tariffs on several UK sectors including aviation, automobiles and electrical machinery.

The agreement is likely to enter into force sometime in 2026 after it is ratified by the UK Parliament. However, in the meantime, trade and industry have been looking at various aspects of the agreement to assess how to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. This is also crucial for India given the 50% tariffs imposed by the US on Indian exports.

The British Prime Minister is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bilateral talks on October 9 to discuss the trade agreement and exchange views on issues of regional and global importance. The Foreign Ministry had earlier said that the two leaders “will take stock of progress on various aspects of the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in line with ‘Vision 2035’, a focused and time-bound 10-year roadmap of programs and initiatives in the core pillars of trade, investment, technology, innovation, defence, security, climate, energy, health, education and people-to-people relations.”