Rishi Sunak warns trade deal with India may never happen
Rishi Sunak has warned a trade deal with India may never happen as he insisted he is in no rush to get one signed.
The PM described himself as the country’s “son-in-law” as he landed in New Delhi for a G20 summit. The UK is hoping to make progress on a free trade agreement that would slash tariffs on whisky and car exports and give British companies access to its huge financial and legal services market.
Mr Sunak will meet India’s PM Narendra Modi on Saturday as he tries to edge a deal closer to the finish line. An agreement was due to have been signed by October last year ahead of Diwali, but negotiations stalled.
The PM played down expectations on getting a deal as he insisted it was “not a given”. He told reporters: “Without question, India is going to be one of the most significant countries geopolitically over the next years and decades, and it’s vitally important for the UK to deepen our ties particularly economically and more broadly with India.
Rishi Sunak speaking to reporters onboard a UK government plane to India (Getty Images)"So that’s why we’ve been working towards an ambitious and comprehensive free trade deal, but it’s not a given. These things are a lot of work and a lot of time. That’s why I’ve never put artificial deadlines on these trade deals, I’ve always said we shouldn’t sacrifice quality for speed.
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“We need to end up with something that works genuinely for both sides. Of course every time I see Prime Minister Modi it’s something we check in on, but that’s not the main purpose of this visit and this trip. There’s lots of other things we’re going to be discussing.”
Mr Sunak is joined on the trip by his wife Akshata Murthy, who is the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy. The PM’s parents are both of Indian descent but were born in East Africa. It is his first trip to India since he entered Downing Street last October.
He said: “It’s special, I’ll be visiting a country that is very near and dear to me. I haven’t been back for a few years. “I saw somewhere that I was referred to as India’s son-in-law, which I hope was meant affectionately. “I’m excited to be back. It’s nice to have Akshata with me as well.”
Rishi Sunak his wife Akshata Murty are met on the tarmac by diplomats from the UK and India (Getty Images)Things have been looking more positive on a trade deal in recent months with India’s commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal saying in July that the two sides wanted to “finalise the deal at the earliest” opportunity. He insisted that almost all the most contentious issues were settled and predicted it would be signed “well before” the end of this year.
But Tory MPs have raised concerns that Mr Sunak could relax visa rules in return for a deal It is thought the PM could return to India later this year to sign an agreement. The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US, as well as the EU.
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