LONDON, Sept. 12: A cross-party panel of the British Parliament has launched an inquiry into the impacts and implications of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK in July.
The House of Lords International Agreements Committee, which includes British Indian Conservative peer Baroness Sandy Verma, is seeking evidence from trade experts, industry representatives, and other stakeholders as part of the parliamentary process before the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is fully implemented.
The agreement, backed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, aims to double bilateral trade between the two countries to USD 120 billion by 2030. Officials project the FTA could boost UK trade by £25.5 billion and its GDP by £4.8 billion annually in the long term.
The inquiry is expected to review the trade deal’s potential economic benefits, market access provisions, and its broader geopolitical significance before the agreement is presented to the Parliament for final approval.