Government Response to UK-India free trade agreement report

This is the government's response, published 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.

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