India & UK Sign FTA; Modi Warns Sikhs Separatists

UK and India signed a Free Trade Agreement on 24 Jul during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both countries have decided to cut tariffs on goods from textiles to whisky and cars and allow more market access for businesses. Talks on the trade agreement were concluded in May after three years of stop-start negotiations, with both sides hastening efforts to clinch a deal in the shadow of tariff turmoil unleashed by US President Donald Trump. The agreement aims to increase bilateral trade by a further GBP 25.5B (USD 34B) by 2040. This is the UK's biggest trade deal since it left the European Union in 2020. It is India's biggest strategic partnership with an advanced economy, and it could provide a template for a long-mooted deal with the EU and for talks with other regions. Both sides hailed the deal—which will take effect following a ratification process, likely within a year—as historic. Modi called the agreement 'a blueprint for our shared prosperity,' highlighting how Indian goods from textiles to jewelry and seafood would secure better market access. Before Modi left for the UK, on 22 Jul, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri warned that Sikh separatists are a 'matter of concern' for countries like the UK, as the space given to them 'impacts social cohesion and social order' in these countries. In March, India had issued a stern warning to London, demanding 'action' not 'words' after Sikh separatists broke a security cordon and tore an Indian flag in front of External Affairs Minister Subramanium Jaishankar’s vehicle as he was exiting an event in the country. In the end of 2023, Vikram Doraiswami, India’s High Commissioner to the UK was prevented from entering a Gurdwara in the city of Glasgow by protesters linked to the Sikh separatist movement. In his joint address with his British counterpart Keir Starmer, Modi said, 'We also agree that forces with extremist ideologies must not be allowed to misuse democratic freedoms. Those who misuse democratic freedoms to undermine democracy itself must be held to account’ (earlier coverage).