UK cars, whiskey, clothes and footwear will be available cheaper in India after 7 days. Because, the free trade agreement between India and UK will come into effect from July 15. That means from this day 99% of India’s goods will be exported to UK at zero tariff. Whereas 99% of UK goods will be imported at 3% average tariff. With this, bilateral trade is likely to double to $120 billion by 2030. After 14 rounds of talks in about 3 years, this agreement was signed on 24 July 2025 by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and British Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds in the presence of PM Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Keir Starmer. British High Commissioner said, ‘Historic moment’ Now only less than a month is left for the businesses and companies of both the countries to prepare before the implementation of this trade agreement. UK High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron wrote on social media platform Understand in the questions and answers what will be the benefits of this agreement… Question 1: Which things will be cheaper in India? Answer: The average tariff on goods imported from UK will be reduced from 15% to 3%. 85% of goods will be completely tariff-free in 10 years. This will make many things cheaper: Question 2: Which sectors of India will benefit? Answer: Sectors like textile, engineering, medical and chemical will benefit. 1. Textile Sector: In the UK, 8-12% tax was levied on Indian clothes and home textiles like bedsheets and curtains, now that will be completely abolished. With this, our clothes will become cheaper and more competitive compared to countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam. Export hubs like Tiruppur, Surat and Ludhiana may see growth of up to 40% in the next three years. 2. Jewelery and leather goods: There will be no tax on jewelery and leather goods like bags, shoes going from India to UK. Small businesses (MSME) and luxury brands will benefit greatly from this. Also, India’s influence in Europe through UK will further increase. 3. Engineering goods and auto parts The UK has abolished import tax on Indian machinery, engineering tools and auto parts such as car parts. This will further strengthen the industrial supply chain of India, UK and Europe. Manufacturing hubs like Pune, Chennai and Gurgaon will benefit. 4. Medicines and Medical Devices Indian pharma companies will get easier registration process for generic medicines in the UK. With this, Indian medicines will easily reach the UK Health Service (NHS) and approval of medicines will also be available quickly. 6. UK import tax on food items, tea, spices and sea products, sea products like basmati rice, prawns, premium tea and spices will be abolished. This will give a big boost to the export industry of areas like Assam, Gujarat, Kerala and West Bengal. 7. Chemicals and Specialty Materials Lower taxes on agrochemicals, plastics and specialty chemicals will boost exports from major hubs like Gujarat and Maharashtra. Under this deal, India aims to double its chemical exports to the UK by 2030. 8. Green Energy and Cleantech This agreement will pave the way for joint ventures in renewable energy, including solar, green hydrogen and electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. The UK will invest further in India’s clean energy sector, which will lead to co-development of new technologies. Question 3: How will this deal benefit India’s economy? Answer: FTA is beneficial for India’s economy in many ways: Question 4: When will this agreement come into force? Answer: This agreement has been signed on 24 July 2025, but it may take about a year to be implemented. This is because approval from the Union Cabinet of India and the UK Parliament is necessary. It has been approved by the Union Cabinet of India. Question 5: When did the talks regarding the agreement between India and UK begin? Answer: Negotiations regarding the agreement between India and UK started on 13 January 2022, which was completed after about 3.5 years. Since 2014, India has signed 3 such free trade agreements with Mauritius, UAE, Australia and EFTA (European Free Trade Association). India is actively negotiating similar agreements with the European Union (EU). Question 6: How many types of trade agreements are there? Answer: Free trade agreements are given different names according to their nature. These include PTA (Preferential), RTA (regional) and BTA (bilateral). WTO names all such economic engagements as RTAs. Question 7: With which countries has India signed these agreements? Answer: India has signed trade agreements with Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Australia, UAE, Mauritius, ASEAN and EFTA blocs. According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India has shifted its FTA focus from the East (ASEAN, Japan, Korea) to Western partners after securing deals with major economies in Asia. India is now giving priority to FTAs with EU and US to expand exports and strengthen trade ties with major economies of the West.
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UK’s whiskey and cars will be cheaper in India after 7 days: Free trade agreement between India and UK will come into effect from July 15; Know the prices of which things will change
