India-UK 16th JETCO Aims to Double Trade by 2030

The 16th meeting of the India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was held in New Delhi. It was co-chaired by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds. This was the first JETCO since talks on the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) opened in January 2022, and the first since the agreement came into force.

The headline target

Shri Goyal urged businesses in both countries to use CETA to double bilateral trade by 2030 and to treat India-UK Vision 2035 as the frame for a larger ambition. Pointing to roughly 1,500 days left until the end of 2030, he said the agreement opens doors that businesses must now walk through. CETA gives most Indian exports duty-free entry into the United Kingdom while opening the Indian market to British exporters, and the Social Security Double Contribution Convention adds to the gains in services.

Five priority areas

• Infrastructure and clean energy, covering project development, renewable energy, transmission lines and utility financing
• Advanced manufacturing and resilient supply chains, including electric vehicles, batteries, electronics and precision engineering
• Technology and innovation, with semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence named
• Financial services, where he sought closer work between the City of London and GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat
• Healthcare and consumer sectors, from generic and innovative medicines to diagnostics, food processing and consumer goods

Early results under CETA

The joint statement issued after the meeting notes that Indian exporters despatched more than fifty consignments to Britain on the very day the agreement took effect, including smartphones, machinery, gold jewellery, garments, woollen yarn, tea and coffee. The shipment of Joha rice from Assam was the first export of that variety to the United Kingdom. The first certificates of origin under the agreement were issued on a self-certification basis through India's eCoO 2.0 platform. From Britain, tariff-free Scottish salmon arrived within a fortnight, Scotch whisky entered at reduced duty and the first cars under the tariff-rate quota cleared customs. Mr Reynolds, speaking with the agreement in force for close to 100 days, said committees and working groups have been set up and a joint review of how businesses are using the pact has begun.

What was agreed

The two sides agreed to exchange data every year, beginning a year after the agreement took effect, on how often businesses claim its lower tariffs, along with business feedback. Minister of State Jitin Prasada called technology the next frontier of the relationship, citing artificial intelligence, semiconductors and data centres and the Technology Security Initiative agreed in 2024. The meeting coincided with a visit by seven mayors and a combined authority leader from the North of England. The 17th JETCO will be held in the United Kingdom in 2027.