Suspense loom around the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the United Kingdom (UK) with the UK intending to wrap the trade deal by Diwali but also asserting that the country will not compromise on the quality of the deal for speed and will only sign a deal that meets the interests of both the countries.
“We do want to secure this ambitious trade deal, and we do want to seek to conclude talks by Diwali, but we are clear that the UK won’t sacrifice quality for speed and we will only sign when we have a deal that meets both countries’ interests,” the spokesperson of Prime Minister Liz Truss told reporters.
The comments from the spokesperson of the Prime Minister came even as the Diwali deadline for the trade deal, set by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, seems to be a long shot now.
Earlier, the talks between the two countries came on the verge of collapse as India objected to the comments made by Home Secretary of the UK Suella Braverman who said she had concerns about an “open borders” offer to India as part of an FTA. The Home Secretary also questioned the action on visa overstayers in the UK from India.
“I have concerns about having an open borders migration policy with India because I don’t think that’s what people voted for with Brexit,” Braverman told ‘The Spectator’ a weekly news magazine.
Asked about visa flexibility for students and entrepreneurs under an India-UK FTA, she said: “But I do have some reservations. Look at migration in this country – the largest group of people who overstay are Indian migrants.”
Sources from the government claimed that the ministers in New Delhi were “shocked and disappointed” by the “disrespectful” remarks made by Braverman.
“There’s still a lot of goodwill but if certain individuals are still embedded in the UK government it will paralyze the talks,” the ‘The Times’ newspaper quoted a source as saying.
A report in ‘Politico’ also hinted at clouds over the UK visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Diwali to sign off on the FTA.
Braverman also talked about the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) clinched between her predecessor in the Home Office, Indian-origin former Home Secretary Priti Patel, and Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in May last year.
“We even reached an agreement with the Indian government last year to encourage and facilitate better cooperation in this regard. It has not necessarily worked very well.”
The Indian High Commission in London responded by stating that all cases referred to it under the MMP had been investigated.
Media reports from the UK also indicate that although Prime Minister Liz Truss is keen to clinch FTA by Diwali, she is aligned with her Home Secretary on the issue.
Experts on both sides now believe that, even if the Diwali deadline for the FTA is achieved, the trade deal will be much less comprehensive and will leave key areas for negotiations. UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch also indicated the same when she said that an FTA with India would not mean that “we can’t do even more later”.
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