London: India and the UK on Thursday inked a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) that will significantly improve market access and will boost bilateral trade by around USD 34 billion annually. The deal was formalised in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Keir Starmer. The FTA is expected to benefit 99 per cent Indian exports from tariff and will make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars and other products to India besides boosting the overall trade basket, according to officials.
The trade deal, firmed up after three years of negotiations, is expected to ensure comprehensive market access for Indian goods across all sectors and India will gain from tariff elimination on about 99 per cent of tariff lines (product categories) covering almost 100 per cent of the trade values, they said.