With Britain deciding to exit from the European Union (EU), the Indian industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which led its annual delegation to London this week to take stock of ‘The Future of UK-India Economic Relations’ has said that Brexit opened up the possibility of new opportunities as a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK could be easier to accomplish at a bilateral level. CII said that there was “political drive and willingness” on both the sides and the Brexit will be the best era for Indian industries to collaborate.
The industry body pointed that India had been negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the EU for over nine years, but was stuck due to various issues. Now these issues will instantly go away between India and the UK and the agreement would be beneficial for both the sides. CII said that “India-UK relations will sustain with or without Britain’s relationship with the EU and will only thrive and prosper in the years ahead.”
CII further said that the both countries share a number of complementarities and there are lower sensitivities, entering into an FTA with Britain will now be faster than with the entire bloc. Sectors such as automobile will not be sensitive in an FTA with the UK as the UK is not into manufacturing of too many small cars. Similarly, products such as textile from India could gain easier access to the UK. Besides, there is lot of export opportunities for Indian companies in sectors including garments and textiles in Britain.