Select committee: International Agreements Committee
Recommendation 7
6th Report - UK–India free trade agreement: Scrutiny of the Government’s Negotiating Objectives
Published 22 Jul 2022
Paragraph 25
International Agreements Committee UK-India trade negotiations All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Unlike with Australia or New Zealand, there are substantial difficulties—and therefore costs—when doing business in India. These are not adequately captured by the Government’s Strategic Approach and Negotiating Objectives, but include a complex bureaucracy (which can change from state to state) and tax regime. The Negotiating Objectives thus come across as unrealistic. We call on the Government to engage with Parliament and wider stakeholders on how it is seeking to address these challenges, and which barriers are being prioritised.
From: International Agreements Committee, 6th Report - UK–India free trade agreement: Scrutiny of the Government’s Negotiating Objectives, paragraph 25, 22 July 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 October 2022 (deadline 18 October 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's recognition of the opportunities in a UK-India FTA, and states it "will not sign a deal unless it is in the UK's interest", while setting out its negotiating approach.
- It agrees that there are "considerable barriers" to a comprehensive FTA with India, and that provisions needing changes to domestic legislation "could create delays or blocks to a deal" for both countries.
- On the Committee's call to set out its priorities, it states that making key asks public "would compromise" negotiators' ability to strike the best deal. It says its objectives were shaped by a public call for input.
- On investor-state dispute settlement, it says ISDS "is considered where it is in the UK's national interests" and where partners and businesses agree it can play a useful role. It does not say whether the India FTA will include it.
- On mobility and the environment, it says there will be no agreement to anything that undermines UK border control, and that carbon leakage "will most effectively be tackled through an international approach". It commits to publish a full impact assessment at signature.