Today’s biggest piece of trade news is that the UK-India trade deal will enter force next month, after both Westminster and New Delhi cleared up the remaining issues that were preventing the deal’s implementation.
Ministers are pointing to the tariff-reductions for various goods as a major benefit for traders, as both sides look to protect their supply chains and boost their economies.
UK-India deal gets deadline
The UK-India trade agreement will enter force on 15 July.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) announced that firms now have 28 days to prepare for the agreement’s implementation. A crucial part of this is pre-registering to complete rules of origin declarations when exporting to India.
The government claims that this agreement will boost UK GDP by £4.8bn and bilateral trade by “£25.5bn every year in the long run”.
DBT is highlighting whisky, cosmetics and automotives as industries that are set to benefit from the tariff reductions.
Business and trade secretary Peter Kyle said that the government was bringing the agreement into force “as quickly as we can”.
“The deal gives British exporters an edge over international competitors, and I would encourage all businesses to ensure they are properly prepared to allow them to sell to India’s huge market in the years to come.”
Kyle’s counterpart, Shri Piyush Goyal, said that “by securing immediate duty-free access on 99% of our tariff lines, we have systematically dismantled long-standing tariff walls”.
Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade director general, Marco Forgione, said it was “hugely positive” that the date had been announced:
“At our recent member forums around the UK, businesses have been expressing an eager desire to see the deal enter into force, and to better understand its benefits in their specific contexts.”
The agreement was signed on 24 July 2025, but doubts remained about when it would enter force. India said it had received assurances over the UK’s upcoming changes to steel tariffs, due to come into effect on 1 July, which were holding up the deal’s final implementation.
India’s trade department said that 85% of India’s steel exports would not be affected by the tariffs, while the remaining 15% would be protected through other means.
Labour manoeuvring on Brexit
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that he will not seek for the UK to rejoin the EU, as he described the UK-EU relationship as “slowly but surely building”, despite a growing pressure from within the Labour Party to go further.
Despite recent polling suggesting that Labour would receive a boost if they backed a second referendum on EU membership, Starmer said that the UK should not waste time “looking backwards”.
Responding to questions at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, the PM said he remained committed to “a clear manifesto commitment in terms of not rejoining the EU”.
“That’s why we’ve gone for the closer relationship that we’re building. We’re slowly but surely building with the EU.”
Possible leadership challenger to Starmer, former health secretary Wes Streeting, had called for a second referendum, while Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has remained cautious on reversing Brexit.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey recently urged Burnham to end Labour’s “torpor and timidity” towards the EU and its “endless talk of a ‘reset’”.
The EU and UK have recently confirmed the 22 July as the date for their long-awaited leaders’ summit. Starmer is set to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the summit.
This follows last year’s event, which saw the UK and EU commit to negotiating a Common Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Area to reduce checks on agrifood products, a linkage of Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) and an enhancement of youth mobility.
Supply Chain Centre established
DBT has established a new Supply Chain Centre, which the government hopes will protect the UK’s supply of critical inputs and help protect British business growth.
The centre has six objectives, including identifying which goods the UK needs, anticipating future supply chain risks and broadening the UK’s options for purchasing these goods.
DBT will house the centre, which includes a Global Supply Chains Intelligence Programme (GSCIP), which will act as a hub for the entire government when it comes to supply chain resilience.
In its Modern Industrial Strategy, the government said that “long-term sustainable growth must be built on secure and resilient foundations”. Various departments have set out strategies and policies designed to protect UK trade and business from recent global supply chain shocks.
So far, the centre has identified 36 categories of “growth-driving input”, which includes aluminium, cement, tin, rubber, nickel, steel and electronic devices which require “effective resilience-building activity and support.”
Also in trade news
· The polls open for by-elections in Makerfield, Aberdeen South, and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry
· EU national leaders begin a two-day summit in Brussels to discuss the bloc’s policy towards China
· US President Donald Trump signed an interim accord to end its war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Yesterday in trade
· Trump co-signed a G7 statement backing Ukraine and committing to increasing economic pressure on Russia to end the war
· Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that inflation remained at 2.8% in May, with food price rises slowing to the lowest rate for 17 months
· European parliamentarians have voted to approve the EU’s tariff reduction deal with the US
You can read yesterday’s trade news here.
