‘India has limited benefits in trade agreement with Britain’ – Gudstory

This comes as both countries have been in fast talks to sign the FTA by the end of the month. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to visit India later this month.

The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said, “Although textiles, apparel, footwear, agricultural products and some other goods will benefit from tariff cuts, substantial growth in Indian exports to the UK will ultimately depend on improvements in product quality rather than FTAs ​​alone.” Will depend.” Said.

“Signing FTAs ​​alone cannot substantially increase India’s labour-intensive goods exports. For example, India’s textile and apparel exports to Japan did not benefit significantly from the FTA. From 2007-09 to 2019-21, India’s exports to Japan grew from $257.7 million to $368.6 million, a cumulative growth of 43.1%, while India’s global exports during the same period stood at around $368.6 million, GTRI said in a report. increased by 67.9%.

It said the modest growth in exports to Japan could be attributed to natural growth factors rather than FTAs.

British exports face tough tariffs in India, especially on goods such as cars, Scotch whiskey and wine. FTAs could lead to tariff reductions on these goods, potentially opening up new opportunities.

However, India’s reluctance to cut tariffs in some sectors, such as dairy, due to political sensitivities highlights the need to open up selective imports to enhance domestic quality, the report said.

The Indian tariff on British cars is 100% and on Scotch whiskey and wine it is as high as 150%. The simple average tariff in India on goods imported from the UK is 14.6%.

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Updated: October 16, 2023, 11:57 PM IST