After successful trade deals with Australia and UAE, India is soon going to have a trade agreement with UK, one of the biggest markets for Indian apparel exporters.
Boris Johnson, UK’s Prime Minister, who is currently on India visit, held a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the second day. Both of them agreed to unveil plans for finalising a free trade agreement (FTA) by the end of this year.
The UK PM said that both leaders told their negotiators to get the FTA done by Diwali 2022.
Following talks with Boris Johnson, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that good progress has been made in negotiations for an FTA.
He said, “Teams of both countries are working on the FTA. Negotiations are progressing well. And we have decided to do our best to conclude the FTA by the end of this year.”
Compared to its competitor countries, Indian apparel exporters have a duty disadvantage of 9.6 per cent in the UK.
Before Covid in 2019, the total import of apparel in the UK was US $ 24.9 billion. Out of this, imports from Bangladesh were US $ 3.6 billion, while it was US $ 1.4 billion for India.
Industry leaders have said time and again that if India gets FTA with the UK, India’s apparel export to the UK can double in just two years. It will create a lot of employment in the apparel industry.
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
