Europe-UK agreement: India seeks opportunities to boost service exports

Mumbai, Ta. 26 December 2020, Saturday

As the post-Brexit trade agreement between Europe and the UK has been finalized, there is a growing demand for India to be aggressive in concluding free trade agreements with the two. However, it is still difficult to know how much India will benefit from the trade agreement between the UK and the EU, said an official of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FEO).

As the trade agreement between Europe and the UK did not cover the service sector, India was looking for opportunities to provide various services such as IT, architecture and engineering in both the regions.

Exports of goods from India will not be particularly profitable but opportunities are likely to arise in the export of services, FOO sources said. As English is also the currency in India, it will be more popular in the UK.

Due to this agreement, there is currently no possibility of getting special relief on customs duty on Indian goods. In view of this fact, India is moving towards a free trade agreement with these areas, he added.

India was faced with a number of complex issues related to the Free Trade Agreement. Now that Britain has seceded from Europe, the issue can be addressed, said an analyst overseeing the country's foreign trade.

The Indo-UK Free Trade Agreement will help India's apparel industry in the UK overcome the disadvantages of customs duties, said an official of the Apparel Export Promotion Council.