Modi and Starmer signal breakthrough in India-UK trade agreement talks
Steel safeguards and CBAM concerns remain key issues for implementation
Leaders discussed plans to announce progress on the India-UK CETA deal
A hot microphone caught British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi signalling they resolved a bilateral trade impasse during the G7 summit in Evian, France, according to Bloomberg.
The leaders met formally on Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit. "We did it," Modi said to Starmer, as the two met with other leaders milling around, the report said.
"We did it. Yes, yes, yes, I hear. We got it over the line. So this is good," Starmer replied.
Planning the Announcement
Following the initial exchange, an Indian aide asked, "how will we announce it today?"
"I think we put a statement out," Starmer replied. The British PM then added, "or we could do something more," before asking, "should I ask our teams how we should do this?"
Neither official readout from the British or Indian sides mentioned a specific dispute. "The leaders looked forward to the early entry into force of the comprehensive economic and trade agreement," the readout issued by the Indian government said.
Resolving Steel Safeguards
While the leaders did not explicitly name the subject of their conversation, the exchange suggests they are nearing a resolution for a trade pact, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which was signed on July 24 last year but remains partially unfulfilled.
Initially, the delay was attributed to the UK’s parliamentary process for the implementation. Officials more recently indicated they could halt progress over a separate disagreement.
The reasons include the UK's steel safeguard measure and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Notably, the UK will limit tariff-free steel imports, reducing overall quota volumes by 60 per cent compared to the steel safeguard measure from July. Any imports above these levels will then face a 50% tariff.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal recently said that an Indian team is in London to take forward the discussions and see that the deal could be operationalised soon.
