India, UK clinch 'landmark' trade deal to remove taxes on export of labour-intensive products

07 May 2025 Evaluate

India and the UK clinched a 'landmark' trade deal that will remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper, in a bid to double trade between the two economies to $120 billion by 2030. The world's fifth and sixth-largest economies concluded the deal after three years of on-off negotiations. The pact lowers tariffs on 99 per cent of Indian goods to zero in the UK market while allowing Indian workers to travel to the UK for work without changing Britain's point-based immigration system. 

Taxes on export of Indian clothing, frozen prawns, jewellery and gems will be cut. And so will be the import of whisky and gin from the UK after the treaty halved the tariff to 75 per cent initially and to 40 per cent by the 10th year. Tariffs on automotive imports will go from over 100 per cent to 10 per cent under quotas on both sides, benefiting companies such as Tata-JLR. Indian goods that will enter the UK at zero duty include minerals, chemicals, gems and jewellery, plastic, rubber, wood, paper, textile, clothing, glass, ceramic, base metals, mechanical and electrical machinery, arms/ammunition, transport/auto, furniture, sports goods, animal products, and processed food.

The two have also concluded the negotiations for the Double Contribution Convention Agreement, or social security pact. It would help avoid double contribution to social security funds by Indian professionals working for a limited period in Britain. The commerce ministry said ‘The exemption for Indian workers who are temporarily in the UK and their employers from paying social security contributions in the UK for a period of three years under the Double Contribution Convention will lead to significant financial gains for the Indian service providers’. It added that this pact will enhance competitiveness of domestic professionals in the UK market that would create new job opportunities as well as benefit a large number of Indians working in the UK. 

However, the talks for the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) are still going on. Earlier, there were plans to conclude all three simultaneously. The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to $21.34 billion in 2023-24 from $20.36 billion in 2022-23. During April-January 2024-25, the trade in goods stood at $21.33 billion as against $20.26 billion in 2023-24. The trade gap is in the favour of India.


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