An enhanced partnership? Prospects for the UK-India trade relationship

Trade Bites

As the world’s second most populous country, India is an emerging player in global trade, and of course it has deep historical and cultural ties with Britain. In recent times, India has acquired a bit of a reputation as being part of the awkward squad within the international trade community. The received wisdom was that New Delhi wasn’t interested in negotiating trade deals with other countries, or in joining regional trade agreements. But there are signs that this may be changing. India has sounded enthusiastic about the idea of a trade deal with the UK, perhaps in response to growing fears about the impact of China’s emergence as a trade superpower in the Asian region, or perhaps because it senses opportunities to benefit from Britain’s new status outside of the EU. So what are the prospects for UK-India trade? What’s India’s game plan, and how likely is it that it will achieve its objectives? Chris Horseman is joined by Dr Mattia Di Ubaldo, Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory; Dr Amrita Saha, Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies; and Professor Abhijit Das, Head of the Centre For WTO Studies at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.