India and United Kingdom to implement Free Trade Agreement from July 15

Key facts

• The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom (UK) will come into force on July 15.
• The agreement is projected to boost bilateral trade by £25.5 billion annually, add £4.8 billion to the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and increase real wages by £2.2 billion.
• Under the FTA, tariffs on British whisky exports to India will be reduced from 150% to 40%, and duties on automobiles will decrease from 100% to 10% under a quota mechanism.
• Tariffs of up to 22% on cosmetics will be eliminated immediately or phased out over a decade, while the UK will reduce tariffs on Indian exports of clothing, footwear, and selected food products.
• The UK-India Double Contributions Convention Agreement, effective July 15, allows professionals to contribute to their home country's social security system for up to 60 months without parallel contributions in the host country, similar to UK arrangements with Japan, South Korea, and Canada.