Patricia Hewitt & Richard Heald on the priorities for a UK-India FTA

By UK India Business Council (UKIBC)

Patricia Hewitt, Chair of the UK-India Business Council and Richard Heald, CEO, comment on the opportunities available to both countries post-Brexit

As the dust begins to settle on the monumental decision taken by the UK in June to leave the European Union, the focus is now on how best to negotiate the UK’s new relationships with the rest of the world.

India is at the forefront of the world’s emerging markets, and with the UK Government sending four ministers over to India in the months after the referendum, it is clear that there is sufficient political will to move towards a closer trading relationship between the two countries.

This was the focus in a recent interview by the Huffington Post India with Patricia Hewitt, Chair of the UK India Business Council, and Richard Heald, CEO, in which both were keen to stress the importance of getting an agreement that is right for the 21st century.

“In the past, trade agreements have tended to focus on products — physical goods that you can put into a container. Both India and the UK want to see modern, 21st century economic agreements that are fit for the digital economy and are at least as much as about services as about the trade in goods,” said Hewitt.

CEO Richard Heald was also keen to emphasise that longevity must be the key to any future UK-India agreement.

“Whatever agreement is put in place [needs to be] fit for the next 20-30 years as opposed to what is right for the day we sign the agreement. The agreement will likely seek to cover a number of traditional sectors as well as emerging ones such as digital technology, advanced manufacturing, going beyond the trade agreements of the past while ironing out issues such as data security and entry visas and removing trade barriers such as tariffs.”

To read the full interview with Huffington Post India please follow this link.


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