United Kingdom wants trade deal with India by Diwali but no compromise on quality: Uncertainty reigns in Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Great Britain (UK), with UK aiming to finalize trade deal with Diwali but also insisting that country will not sacrifice quality agreement for the sake of speed and will only sign agreements that are in the interests of both parties.
United Kingdom wants trade deal with India by Diwali but no compromise on quality
"We really want to finalize this ambitious trade deal and aim to complete the negotiations by Diwali but we are aware that the UK will not sacrifice quality for the sake of speed and we will only sign if we have a deal that meets the needs." The interests of both parties," a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Liz Truss told reporters.
The Prime Minister's spokesman's comments come even though the Diwali deadline for a trade deal, set by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, now appears to be a long way off.
Government sources said ministers in New Delhi were "shocked and disappointed" by Braverman's "disrespectful" comments. "There is still a lot of goodwill, but if certain individuals are still involved in the British government, it will stifle negotiations," a source was quoted as saying by the Times.
Earlier, talks between the two countries were on the verge of collapsing as India objected to comments by British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who said she was concerned about India's open border proposal as part of a free trade deal. The Home Secretary also questioned the crackdown on overstayers in the UK from India.
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"I'm worried about an open border migration policy with India because I don't think people voted for Brexit," Braverman told The Spectator, a weekly news magazine. When asked about the flexibility of UK India FTA student and business visas, he said: “But I have some reservations. You look at migration in this country – the largest group of people living outside the borders are Indian migrants.”
A report in Politico also hinted at the cloud over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Diwali visit to the UK to sign a free trade agreement. Braverman also spoke about the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) formed between his predecessor at the Ministry of Home Affairs, former Indian Home Minister Priti Patel, and United States Secretary of State S. Jaishankar in May last year. “Last year we even reached an agreement with the Indian government to encourage and facilitate better cooperation in this regard. It doesn't necessarily work well."
British media reports also suggest that Prime Minister Liz Truss, despite wanting to reach a Diwali free trade deal, is at odds with her home minister over the matter. Experts on both sides now believe that even if the Diwali FTA deadlines are met, the trade deal will be far less comprehensive, leaving key areas open to negotiations. British Commerce Secretary Cammy Badenoch also made the same point when he said a free trade deal with India doesn't mean "we can't do more later".