LONDON (AP) – The United Kingdom expects to sign a free trade agreement with India this year, according to International Trade Secretary Kimi Badnoch. She visited the country late last year for talks on removing trade barriers between the two countries and is optimistic about the chances of success.
The British hope, among other things, to reach agreements on reducing duties at the border. Companies from the UK should also be given more opportunities to provide services in the Asian country, which was a British colony until 1947. “I expect it to work this year. But I won’t set a deadline because we’ve set artificial deadlines from Before this hindered the negotiations rather than helped.”
The United Kingdom left the European Union three years ago. That Qatari bloc has also been in talks for a long time about a trade agreement with India, which still protects its economy from foreign parties in many areas. In June, the European Commission said it wanted a deal with India before the end of 2023.
In the run-up to Brexit, Brexiteers scrutinized the best chances for a trade deal with the United States. But Badenoch tempers those expectations, with the UK and US still without a deal after three years. “They’re more preoccupied now with what they want to do with their economies,” Badenoch says of Americans. “If they don’t want to have free trade agreements with anyone, we can’t force them.”
US President Joe Biden’s government has received a lot of criticism from European corners about the so-called inflation reduction law. This is a multi-hundred billion dollar support package for the greening of the US economy. But because there are many tax and financial advantages for companies that produce in the United States, it creates unfair competition between countries in attracting and retaining companies, according to critics.
