Starmer Seeks India Trade Deal Even Sunak Couldn’t Pull Off

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he’d restart talks on a UK-India free trade agreement next year, setting an ambitious goal for a deal that even Rishi Sunak, Britain’s first Hindu premier, couldn’t secure.

“A new trade deal with India will support jobs and prosperity in the UK, and represent a step forward in our mission to deliver growth and opportunity across our country,” Starmer said on Monday following a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Group of 20 summit in Brazil.

Negotiations between the two nations stalled back in May after 14 rounds spanning two years, held up by elections first in India and then the UK. The strong personal relationship between Modi and Sunak was seen as the best shot at getting an agreement signed, but it proved elusive.

Before talks went on ice, people close to both negotiating teams told Bloomberg there were still hurdles to be overcome in goods, services and investment areas, suggesting Starmer will have his work cut out managing to find agreement.

Still, Starmer, who came to power in July, has said economic growth is his main goal in office. A trade agreement with India and closer economic ties with China are a part of meeting that objective.

The UK’s trading relationship with India was worth £42 billion in the 12 months to June 2024, Number 10 Downing Street said, with British exports accounting for about 40% of total commerce.