Few tariff exclusions in India-UK FTA: MEA

Agreement gets Cabinet approval, likely to be signed on Thursday; highest priority to ensure energy security: Misri

- ARCHIS MOHAN

On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the United Kingdom (UK), Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on Tuesday that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement was undergoing "last-minute work", such as "legal scrubbing".

In its meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the Union Cabinet approved the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or the bilateral FTA, between the two countries. It is likely to be signed in London on July 24.

Misri also suggested that the FTA was a comprehensive one with few, if any, exclusions of tariff lines.

The Prime Minister will leave for a four-day foreign tour to the UK and Maldives on Wednesday afternoon. With Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal accompanying the PM, there is anticipation that the two sides will sign the FTA on Thursday.

To a question whether any tariff lines are being excluded from the India-UK FTA, Misri said that his understanding is that it is a significant agreement, and the inclusions of tariff lines are likely to be equally significant.