India, UK Cut China Dependency

New Delhi: India and the United Kingdom have signed a landmark free trade agreement (FTA), momentous not only in quantitative magnitude -- encompassing reductions across 90 per cent of tariff lines -- but also in its emblematic stature as a recalibration of post-globalisation economic strategy, an SBI report said on Wednesday. The FTA signal a new global trade strategy, bypassing China’s dependence, navigating US tariffs and reshaping post-BREXIT Britain.

The FTA takes place in the backdrop of growing economic relations between India and the UK as exemplified in the bilateral trade of about $60 billion which is projected to double by 2030.

India’s exports in FY25 outpaced a 6.1 per cent contraction in imports. The FTA, spanning goods, services, and technology, seeks to foster inclusive growth, resilient supply chains, and employment generation, according to the report by State Bank of India’s Economic Research Department. Liberalisation in the UK sectors such as IT, finance, education, and consumer goods unlocks labour-intensive export potential in Indian industries like textiles, toys, marine products, and auto components.