India-UK Relations: According to a UK media report on Wednesday, the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) is “on the verge of collapse” because the Indian government was incensed by remarks made by UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman on the country’s handling of visa overstayers.
According to official sources cited by The Times, Braverman expressed her reservations about an “open border” offer to India as part of an FTA, which left ministers in New Delhi “shocked and dissatisfied.” It is now thought that there are fewer chances of achieving the pact’s Diwali deadline set by the former prime minister Boris Johnson.
There is still a lot of goodwill, but if some people remain part of the [UK] administration, it will stymie negotiations, a source told the newspaper.
According to a report in “Politico,” it is increasingly unlikely that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to the UK for Diwali to ratify an FTA.
In an interview last week, the Home Secretary of Indian descent expressed her concern that a trade agreement with India would lead to a surge in immigration to the UK, despite the fact that Indians already made up the largest group of visa overstayers.
Braverman said in an interview with the weekly news publication “The Spectator” that he was “concerned about having an open borders migration policy with India because I don’t think that’s what people voted for with Brexit.”
When questioned about the flexibility of visas for students and businesspeople under an FTA between India and the UK, she responded: “But I do harbour some misgivings. The majority of immigrants who overstay their visas in this country are Indians, according to data on migration.”
“In order to promote and enable improved cooperation in this area, we even came to an agreement with the Indian government last year. It hasn’t always worked out well.” Specifically, Priti Patel, a former home secretary of Indian descent, and S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, signed the Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) in May of last year.
Also Read: Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine’s partners Struggle to Obtain Arms Quickly due to Stockpile Shrink
The Indian High Commission’s Response
In response, the Indian High Commission in London noted that in all cases brought to it under the MMP, action has already been taken.
“Mobility has been the main demand from India, and everything else – financial services, banking, education, whisky origin rules, etc. – depends on it. Furthermore, Suella has yanked that mobility question out from under her “According to a senior UK government source, “The Times.”
“They were out of control. Mad doesn’t even begin to convey how furious they are, “another observed
Although it appears that Liz Truss, the British prime minister, and Braverman are at odds over the FTA because she wants to sign it by the Diwali deadline, a media article shows that they actually agree on the topic of migration.
To build the very special India-UK partnership in trade, investment, defence, and through the #LivingBridge, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, met Truss at an event in London on Tuesday night. He then tweeted: “Delighted and honoured to greet HE PM Liz Truss @10DowningStreet this evening.” The FTA would be significantly less extensive than anticipated if the Diwali deadline is still fulfilled, according to strategic analysts on both sides, leaving important sectors open for future negotiations.
Kemi Badenoch, the UK trade secretary, appeared to lay the framework for this last week when she stated that an FTA with India would not exclude “doing much more afterwards.”
The UK’s position that it would not sacrifice quality for speed was underlined by the Department for International Trade (DIT).
We have a strong trading partnership with India that is expected to be worth GBP 24 billion in 2021, according to the statement. We keep looking for ways to make our current trading relationship better. We are negotiating a high-ambition free trade pact because of this.
We are adamant that we won’t compromise quality for expediency and that we won’t sign anything unless it serves the interests of both our nations.
Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘DNP INDIA’. Also, please subscribe and follow us on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER
