"India-UK trade agreement will enter into force from July 15": Foreign Secy Misri calls announcement one of the key outcomes
Paris, June 18
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday said that the announcement of the implementation of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement was among the key outcomes of Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi's engagements on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, with the pact set to come into force on July 15.
Addressing a special briefing on the Prime Minister's visit to Paris, France, Misri highlighted trade as a major theme running through several of PM Modi's bilateral meetings.
"The trade aspect of this could be seen at Evian as a matter of fact, in the multiple bilateral meetings that the Prime Minister had. And if I can cite just four of those meetings and the progress that was registered as well as reinforced at each one of these meetings," Misri said.
Referring to India-UK ties, he noted that Prime Minister Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the date for the entry into force of the landmark trade pact signed last year in July.
"With the UK, as you are aware, both the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom announced the date for the entry into force of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, which was signed last year in the presence of the two Prime Ministers in the UK and will enter into force from July 15," Misri said.
Highlighting the development as a significant step forward in relations with one of India's major economic partners, he added, "So major, major development in so far as bilateral relations with a major trading partner are concerned."
The landmark India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will come into force from July 15, 2026, with the government working to ensure that customs notifications and related processes are put in place so that exporters can start availing concessions from day one, senior government sources told ANI.
"Government is working towards getting customs notifications and processes in place. The effort will be to see that exporters are able to sell their consignments on July 15 itself, availing concessions," sources said.
Describing the pact as a landmark achievement, government sources said, "India-UK CETA is the most aspirational agreement so far," adding that it opens up a market worth over USD 500 billion for Indian businesses.
"India will have decent market access. More than USD 500 billion worth of market opens up for India. India-UK CETA opens up large economic opportunities on both sides," sources said.
The agreement is expected to provide an additional tariff advantage of 7-10 per cent to Indian exporters, bringing India at par with several other countries that already enjoy zero-duty access to the UK market. Sources said over 99 per cent of India's tariff lines and 99 per cent of India's trade would come down to zero duty under the pact.
India currently enjoys a trade surplus with the UK in both merchandise and services. India's services exports to the UK stood at USD 21.6 billion in 2024, while UK services exports to India were valued at USD 13.7 billion. Merchandise exports from India to the UK stood at USD 13.7 billion in 2025, compared with imports of USD 9.47 billion.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Impressive how the government is ensuring customs notifications are ready by July 15 so exporters can avail concessions on day one. That's the kind of execution we need. But I hope there are proper safeguards for our farmers and dairy sector, which often get overlooked in these deals. Good overall though!
As someone working in tech exports from Bangalore, this is a game-changer. 7-10% tariff advantage will make our software services even more competitive in the UK. Also good to see both sides cooperating despite earlier Brexit complications. Win-win for Indian IT and British consumers.
The devil is in the details. While opening a $500 billion market sounds great, I hope this doesn't lead to dumping of cheap British goods or hurt our MSME sector. Also, what about the services sector commitments? Need transparency on IPR and data localization clauses. Let's examine the fine print carefully.
Finally some concrete progress after years of negotiations! India already has a healthy trade surplus with the UK - $13.7 billion exports vs $9.47 billion imports in merchandise alone. With zero tariffs, our auto parts, leather goods, and gems & jewellery sectors will really shine. Kudos to the diplomatic teams on both sides! 👏
Good move but we must ensure balance - the UK gets access to our huge market too. Let's hope this doesn't become another one-sided deal like some past FTAs. The government should also focus on boosting domestic manufacturing so we can fully capitalize on these export opportunities. Make in India + trade = growth.
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