After years of cautious negotiations, India and the United Kingdom have finally inked a free trade agreement that promises a new chapter in economic cooperation. Though modest in scale at £6 billion, the deal carries outsized symbolic and strategic value. It signals not just a commercial handshake but a recalibration of ties between two democracies navigating uncertain global economic winds.

For India, the agreement opens the door to the UK market in sectors long constrained by high tariff barriers ~ especially textiles, jewellery, electric vehicles, and processed food. These are not mere export categories but critical levers of employment and regional growth, particularly for MSMEs. The easing of tariffs provides Indian manufacturers a meaningful edge, just as global demand in post-Covid economies becomes more price sensitive. The UK, on the other hand, secures a crucial foothold in India’s growing consumer market, especially for........

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