India, UK start weekly FTA negotiations, says official

New Delhi: India and the UK have begun weekly trade negotiations, as both the nations look to complete negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) soonest, India's commerce secretary Sunil Bharthwal said on Friday.

This comes amid reports that India and the United Kingdom could sign the proposed FTA by the end of October 2023, with UK prime minister Rishi Sunak likely to visit India for the signing of the deal.

“The 13th round is going on and we are doing these negotiations on a weekly basis now. Last week we went to London. This time the team is here,” Bharthwal said.

In an interview to Mint, UK’s secretary of state for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch had said that as the UK has a relatively open economy compared to India, there will be more things that would require movement on the Indian side during the ongoing FTA negotiations.

Badenoch, who was in the country for the G20 trade and investment summit in Jaipur and free trade agreement negotiations, said that India and UK have closed most chapters and the deal will set “precedence” due to its unique nature.

As India and the UK inch closer to signing the agreement, discussions have been focused on the contentious parts of the FTAs such as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), rules of origin, Bilateral Investment Treaties (BIT).

Talks on IPR are crucial as India is the world’s largest provider of generic drugs, accounting for a fifth of global supply. The low cost of generics mean they comprise about 70-80% of the domestic retail market and are crucial to the well-being of the aging Indian population. In contrast, the UK is one of the leading countries in life science innovation and is seeking a strong IPR protection.

Mint had earlier reported that India is unlikely to budge on its opposition to the provisions on regulatory data protection and patent extension in free trade talks with the EU and the UK. Regulatory data protection or data exclusivity have been among EU’s demands since 2013 but remains a red line for India.