British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron has announced that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement will come into effect from July 15. The agreement, signed in July 2025, aims to increase annual bilateral trade to £25.5 billion by significantly reducing tariffs.
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Britain will come into effect from July 15. British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron made this announcement on Wednesday. He called it a historic step in the economic relations between the two countries. In a post on social media platform Describing it as a major milestone in the relationship between the two countries, he further wrote, “This is a historic moment for the modern UK-India partnership, which will usher in a new era of growth for both our economies.”
What is special in this historic agreement?
This announcement is the last step before implementing this trade agreement. It was signed by India and the United Kingdom in July 2025 after almost three years of negotiations.
The UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), officially known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), is a landmark deal. Its aim is to increase the annual bilateral trade between the two countries to £25.5 billion. It was signed in July 2025 during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UK visit. This is an important milestone in the economic partnership between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies.
Tariff reduction and market access
This deal includes big cuts in tariffs on goods like textiles, whiskey and cars. This will make Indian exports more competitive in the UK market and British goods will get the same benefit in India. Indian businessmen will get greater access to the UK market. Once the agreement comes into force, the UK will immediately offer zero duty on 99.1% of its tariff lines with 100% trade value.
Economic impact and future path
It is expected that this FTA will create thousands of jobs in both the countries, especially in sectors like textile, leather, footwear, sports goods and engineering.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, this agreement with the United Kingdom is expected to significantly improve market access for Indian exports. Under this, 90.2% of India’s exports to UK will become duty-free.
The goal of this trade agreement is to increase market access, reduce tariffs and double bilateral trade by 2030. Now that the date of July 15 has been confirmed, businesses of both the countries are preparing for the implementation of tariff cuts and other measures to make business easier. (ANI)