Sir Keir Starmer<\/a> has struck Britain\u2019s biggest post-Brexit trade deal<\/a>, hailing a \u201clandmark\u201d agreement with India that will boost trade with the country by \u00a325.5bn. <\/p>\n In a major coup for the prime minister<\/a>, he said the agreement focused on whiskey<\/a>, gin, cars and cosmetics will boost the economy and cut prices for consumers.<\/p>\n A post-Brexit deal with India, one of the world\u2019s fastest-growing economies<\/a>, has been a priority for successive prime ministers, with Boris Johnson famously promising to strike an agreement by Diwali in October 2022. <\/p>\n But as part of the agreement, India said in what it hailed as a \u201cbig win\u201d, temporary Indian workers in Britain and their employers will be exempt from making social security contributions in Britain for three years.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hosting a meeting of Indian investors last year (Henry Nicholls\/PA) (PA Wire)<\/p>\n The reform is under what is known as the \u201cdouble contribution convention\u201d \u2013 designed to stop workers and employers paying twice, in each country. <\/p>\n The deal is also expected to make it easier for Indian chefs, musicians and yogis to come to the UK, after a new cap on the number of professionals who can come to the UK was agreed. <\/p>\n As Labour<\/a> reels from the shock of its local election drubbing, Sir Keir hopes the announcement will help get his Labour government back on track. It also comes as Britain struggles to get a trade deal with the US – which it hopes would exempt it from Donald Trump\u2019s levies on steel and cars and 10 per cent blanket tariffs – over the line. <\/p>\n The announcement sent the pound to a three-year high against the US dollar. <\/p>\n The prime minister said: \u201cThrough this government\u2019s stable and pragmatic leadership, the UK has become an attractive place to do business. Today we have agreed a landmark deal with India – one of the fastest growing economies in the world, which will grow the economy and deliver for British people and business. <\/p>\n \u201cStrengthening our alliances and reducing trade barriers with economies around the world is part of our Plan for Change to deliver a stronger and more secure economy here at home.\u201d <\/p>\n A major sticking point in the talks was believed to be Indian demands for looser restrictions on visas for those coming to the UK, but the Department for Business and Trade said it would have no impact on Britain\u2019s points-based migration system.<\/p>\n The deal will immediately halve tariffs on whisky and gin from 150 per cent to 75 per cent, followed by a cut to 40 per cent in 2035. It will also cut automotive tariffs from over 100 per cent to just 10 per cent, opening up the Indian market to British carmakers as they are grappling with the impact of Mr Trump<\/a>\u2019s tariffs on the sector.<\/p>\n The government said British shoppers would see lower prices for clothes, footwear and foods including frozen prawns as the UK reduces barriers for imports from India. The deal also includes new commitments to protect consumers from spam texts from India, which could include requiring opt-out or prior consent, the government said.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Boris Johnson promised but failed to strike a trade deal with India several years ago (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)<\/p>\n The deal will boost bilateral trade by \u00a325.5bn, the Department for Business and Trade said, adding \u00a34.8bn to UK GDP each year. <\/p>\n It was struck after long-running negotiations between British and Indian officials, with business secretary Jonathan Reynolds<\/a> undergoing a final round of discussions with the country\u2019s commerce minister Piyush Goyal last week. <\/p>\n Mr Reynolds said: \u201cBy striking a new trade deal with the fastest-growing economy in the world, we are delivering billions for the UK economy and wages every year and unlocking growth in every corner of the country, from advanced manufacturing in the North East to whisky distilleries in Scotland. <\/p>\n \u201cIn times of global uncertainty, a pragmatic approach to global trade that provides businesses and consumers with stability is more important than ever.\u201d <\/p>\n Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said: \u201cThese landmark agreements will further deepen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and catalyse trade, investment, growth, job creation, and innovation in both our economies. I look forward to welcoming PM Starmer to India soon.\u201d <\/p>\n A major sticking point in the talks was believed to be Indian demands for looser restrictions on visas for those coming to the UK, but the Department for Business and Trade said it would have no impact on Britain\u2019s points-based migration system.<\/p>\n Critics have said Britain would have been able to agree a better deal with India as part of the EU, which is also holding talks with the country. The European Movement UK welcomed the deal but said the bloc \u201chas more clout\u201d and the UK would be better off as part of it. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Best for Britain, which campaigns for closer EU-UK ties, said a customs deal with the EU could boost UK GDP by 2.2 per cent, more than 20 times the impact of the agreement with India. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer during a bilateral meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi (PA Wire)<\/p>\n The deal with India comes after post-Brexit agreements between the UK and Australia<\/a>, New Zealand<\/a>, Japan<\/a> and other countries. <\/p>\n As well as whisky and gin, the UK-India will cover advanced manufacturing, including the aerospace industry, clean energy, life sciences and the creative and UK services sectors. <\/p>\n It was welcomed as a \u201conce in a generation boost\u201d by exporters, with Scottish Whisky Association chief executive Mark Kent saying: \u201cThe reduction of the current 150 per cent tariff on Scotch Whisky will be transformational for the industry, and has the potential to increase Scotch Whisky exports to India by \u00a31bn over the next 5 years, creating 1,200 jobs across the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n And the boss of the Premier League said the market is \u201cincredibly important\u201d to the competition and its clubs. <\/p>\n Richard Masters added: \u201cThe continued growth of the Premier League and UK businesses in India will have a positive impact on our domestic economy and we welcome the news of this new trade deal secured by government, which will support UK businesses operating in India.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[802,748,2000,299,5187,1699,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-79468","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-brexit","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-european-union","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114461584050020866","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Prime](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1e3bb8f2fafe51f802aea35acb8d6d21Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzQ2NjIzMjYw-2.78519548.jpg\")
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