British Trade Department Minister Greg Hands said on Wednesday that the country had concluded the details on 'all sections' of the proposed trade between it and India, but that it would only sign off on the deal once it was satisfied that the deal was 'fair and reciprocal.'
"We have already closed the majority of chapters and look forward to the next round of talks shortly," Hands told the House of Commons.
Although the British government had previously expressed hopes that the deal would be concluded by Diwali, most analysts at the time had judged this to be extremely optimistic, given India's notoriously protectionist stance on trade.
"We are working towards the best deal for both sides and won't sign until we have a deal that is fair, reciprocal and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the UK economy," Hands told the Commons.
New Delhi, for its part, has kept mum on the deal, expressing neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction.
Little wonder, given that the sheer size of the Indian market coupled with excellent Indian demographics mean any trade deal would benefit the UK far more than it would benefit India, especially given how London has shot itself in the foot with Brexit and already been rejected by Washington on a UK-US trade deal.
Interestingly, Suella Braverman, newly reinstalled as UK home secretary, has expressed concerns about Indians who come to the UK to work and then fail to return when their visas run out. She said Indian nationals are the most numerous offenders.
"I have concerns about having an open borders migration policy with India because I don't think that's what people voted for with Brexit… The largest group of people who overstay are Indian migrants. We even reached an agreement with the Indian government last year to encourage and facilitate better cooperation in this regard. It has not necessarily worked very well," she has previously said.
Amusingly, Braverman herself is of Indian descent -- the child of parents who emigrated to the UK.
The UK and India entered into an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) in May 2021 and commenced negotiations for a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in January 2022.
An end-of-the-year timeline has been suggested for an interim pact, but the latest indications are that it could be agreed by the end of October 2022, although these hopes have been dashed.
The ETP forms part of the ‘2030 Roadmap’ for future UK-India relations and was highlighted during Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India in April 2022.
