New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday hailed the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) as a ‘game-changing’ deal that provides immense opportunities and benefits to farmers, businessmen, MSME sectors, young professionals and fishermen.

“India’s Cabinet has already approved the India-UK FTA and now after UK’s parliament ratification process is completed, the agreement will be operational,” he said at a press briefing here.

According to the Commerce Minister, of all the FTAs India has signed, the one with the UK is the “biggest, most comprehensive, and most important.”

“India-UK signed a win-win FTA in favour of both nations involved after almost 22-23 years of talks,” he said.

The agreement, called Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), secures unprecedented duty-free access for 99 per cent of India’s exports to the UK, covering nearly the entire trade basket. Agriculture is a big winner under the deal, with nearly 95 per cent of Indian farm products gaining duty-free access to the UK.

Meanwhile, India also protected domestic farmers’ interests by excluding dairy products, edible oils and apples in the FTA.

The landmark pact also brings major relief to Indian professionals working in the UK, who will now be exempt from paying up to three years of social security tax—resulting in estimated annual savings of Rs 4,000 crore.

Goyal also discussed the other FTAs in the pipeline and said each will have a different template. “India does not have a trade war with any country. All our FTAs are progressing with the right speed, with the right intent and in the right direction,” he said.

The minister further stated that India is in active discussions with different countries — the EU, the US, Peru, Chile and Oman. “All are going on at the right speed and in the right direction,” he said. India and the EU are aiming to reach an agreement on a free trade deal by the end of 2025

Further, Goyal criticised the UPA government, saying that trade agreements made during that UPA era jeopardised India’s manufacturing capabilities, citing the deal with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an example.

“FTAs signed by PM Narendra Modi are with Mauritius, Australia, EFTA countries, the UAE, and now the UK. Talks are going on with other developed countries. India now signs FTAs with countries which do not compete with us, but complement us,” he noted.

–IANS

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