The British government intends to accelerate negotiations with India to conclude a free trade agreement in light of the introduction of US tariffs, the weekly newspaper The Sunday Times reported.
It is noted that on April 9, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will hold an “economic and financial dialogue“ with India to step up efforts to reach a trade agreement. London and New Delhi are working on a free trade agreement from January 2022.
In February, the countries resumed negotiations, which were suspended due to the election campaign in Britain last summer. According to British government statistics, trade between the kingdom and India is currently around £41 billion ($53 billion).
The United Kingdom is also interested in concluding a new deal with Australia. As a source from Downing Street noted, Prime Minister Keir Starmer understands why some countries, including the United States, choose the path of protectionism, but the British authorities do not intend to abandon the principle of free trade.
“Globalization does not meet the interests of the working class. We do not believe that trade wars are the right answer. There is a chance to show that there is another way”, Starmer said at a recent meeting with his advisers. At the same time, the interlocutor of the publication, close to the head of government, admitted that “the world has changed, globalization is over”.