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NO UK-INDIA FREE TRADE DEAL THIS MONTH, SCOTCH MAKERS TO MISS OUT DIWALI BONANZA

By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET

17-10-2022



Credit: Edgar Chaparro/Unsplash

UK’s new Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said that her country is no longer working to the Diwali (24 October) deadline for the UK-India free trade agreement, indicating that UK’s Scotch producers will miss out on India’s highest whisky consumption season this year.

Badenoch, who was appointed by UK’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss last month, also said the UK government is now focused not on speed but on securing the best deal possible.

The deadline of Diwali was set by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson who was very keen to see it happen.

The former Prime Minister is keen to sell more whisky to India and wants to ­see the 150 percent tariffs on liquor to be substantially reduced.

Mark Kent, CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association, said securing the deal with India is the “industry’s top international trade priority”.

"We want to see a deal agreed, but not any deal. To deliver for the industry, any agreement must open up the market to more Scotch Whisky producers, which will in turn generate hundreds of new jobs across the UK, hundreds of millions of pounds of additional exports, and boost investment and revenue in India,” he said.

India’s foreign ministry spokesman, Arindam Bagchi, said the deadline had not been cast in stone. “There was a general goal of trying to get it done by Diwali. But goals are dependent on negotiations,” he said.

Asked if India’s demand for more visas was holding up negotiations, Mr Bagchi did not answer directly but said there was an understanding between both countries on “mobility and consular matters” which would require “mutual implementation”.

Apart from more visas, India is reportedly seeking to increase exports of leather, textiles, jewellery and food products to Britain. It is also said to be demanding for greater access for Indian services and products such as pharmaceuticals.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed with Boris Johnson that the agreement should be sealed by Diwali when the two met in New Delhi in April this year.

It was said that the deal can double bilateral trade by 2030, the trade is currently worth about USD31 billion.

(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)

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