Overview
- Peter Kyle travelled to New Delhi to push for rapid implementation of the India‑UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, meeting Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and industry leaders during talks this week.
- Senior officials from both sides held detailed technical talks but did not set a new date to bring the FTA into force because disagreements over the UK’s tightened steel safeguard quotas and its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism remain unresolved.
- India has publicly warned it could ‘rebalance’ concessions agreed under the pact, specifically revisiting steep tariff cuts on Scotch whisky, if London does not address concerns about market access for Indian steel exporters.
- The UK says it aims to preserve the deal’s benefits and notes the FTA would liberalise roughly 99% of UK tariffs and 90% of Indian tariffs while projecting long‑run GDP gains of nearly £5 billion for each country.
- Next steps include UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s scheduled visit to review broader ties and the UK’s steel safeguard changes coming into force on July 1, 2026, with the CBAM due to apply from 2027 and potentially alter market dynamics for steel and other carbon‑intensive imports.