UK-India Free Trade Agreement Concluded After Final Talks in London

What has been agreed on goods

According to the government's conclusion summary, India will remove or reduce tariffs on 90% of tariff lines, covering 92% of existing goods imports from the UK. After staging over ten years, 85% of tariff lines will be fully tariff-free. Key changes include:

• Whisky and gin: Indian tariffs of 150% will be cut to 75% on entry into force and to 40% by year ten.
• Cars: automotive tariffs of over 100% fall to 10% under a quota.
• Other goods: reduced tariffs on cosmetics, aerospace, lamb, medical devices, salmon, electrical machinery, soft drinks, chocolate and biscuits.

The government estimates that India's tariff cuts are worth around GBP 400 million on existing trade, more than doubling to around GBP 900 million after ten years.

Services, procurement and social security

The summary describes access for UK businesses to India's public procurement market of approximately 40,000 tenders worth at least GBP 38 billion a year. Alongside the trade deal, the two countries agreed to negotiate a Double Contributions Convention, under which employees temporarily working in the other country for up to three years will continue to pay social security contributions only in their home country. It will come into force in line with the wider deal.

What happens next

Work is continuing to finalise the legal text. Once it has been completed and legally verified, the agreement will be signed and must then complete each country's domestic procedures, including UK parliamentary scrutiny, before it enters into force. Exporters in the drinks, automotive, medical technology and professional services sectors, and employers who second staff between the two countries, should begin assessing rules of origin and tariff schedules once the legal text is published.

Sources

• GOV.UK: UK concludes trade deal with India (6 May 2025)
• GOV.UK: UK-India trade deal, conclusion agreement summary