India and the United Kingdom have confirmed that their landmark Free Trade Agreement will come into force on July 15, marking a major milestone in bilateral economic ties and concluding years of negotiations between the two countries.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met to review progress on the agreement and discuss its implementation.
The deal is expected to significantly deepen commercial ties between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies. According to official estimates, the agreement could increase annual bilateral trade by £25.5 billion while adding £4.8 billion to the UK economy and £5.1 billion to India’s economy over the long term.
The FTA is among the most comprehensive trade agreements negotiated by India and is one of Britain’s most significant post-Brexit trade deals. It upgrades an economic relationship already valued at around £48 billion and is expected to create new opportunities across manufacturing, services, technology, agriculture and professional sectors.
A key feature of the agreement is extensive tariff liberalisation. The deal will remove or reduce tariffs on 99 per cent of UK tariff lines and 90 per cent of Indian tariff lines.
For British exporters, tariffs on whisky will fall from 150 per cent to 40 per cent, while automobile duties will be reduced from 100 per cent to 10 per cent under a quota-based system. Duties on a range of consumer goods, including cosmetics, will also be phased down or eliminated.
India is expected to benefit from improved market access for products such as garments, footwear and selected food items, helping exporters expand their presence in the UK market.
The agreement arrives at a time when countries are seeking to diversify supply chains and strengthen economic resilience amid growing geopolitical uncertainty. Officials in both capitals view the pact as a strategic as well as economic partnership, aimed at boosting investment, trade and long-term growth.
Alongside the FTA, both countries will also implement the UK-India Double Contributions Convention Agreement, which seeks to ease social security contribution burdens for professionals working temporarily in each other’s markets.
The confirmation of the July 15 implementation date follows intensive discussions between officials from both sides to resolve outstanding issues, including concerns surrounding British steel safeguard measures. With those hurdles now addressed, businesses in both countries are being encouraged to prepare for the new trading framework and take advantage of the opportunities it will create.
