Overview

• The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, signed July 24 by India’s commerce minister and Britain’s trade secretary, has moved to a UK parliamentary committee for scrutiny in a process that could take up to a year before full approval.
• Once ratified, 99 percent of Indian exports—including textiles, marine products and processed foods—will enter the UK duty-free from day one.
• India has excluded or phased in concessions on sensitive items such as dairy, cereals and gold jewellery, while the UK secured a capped annual quota for cars and gradual tariff cuts on Scotch whisky.
• A Double Contributions Convention lets Indian workers maintain payments into India’s social security system for up to three years in the UK, with reciprocal benefits for UK professionals in India.
• During the UK’s ratification period, India is conducting outreach to prepare exporters for the deal and continues parallel FTA negotiations with the European Union and the United States.