Industry Odisha Bureau, Jun 18: Aimed at deepening bilateral trade, expand market access, and also facilitating greater mobility of professionals between the two nations, India and the United Kingdom (UK) have reportedly announced that their Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and Double Contribution Convention (DCC) agreements would come into effect from July 15 this year.
Besides announcing the implementation date of the CETA and DCC, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) reportedly highlighted on “immediate duty-free access on 99% of India’s tariff lines” and “greater competitiveness for Indian exporters in the UK market.”
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal reportedly told media, “The simultaneous implementation of CETA and DCC would create significant opportunities for Indian exports. By securing immediate duty-free access on 99% of our tariff lines, we have systematically dismantled long-standing tariff walls.”
As per media reports, the MOCI informed that “UK tariffs on Indian exports of ‘processed food products’, ‘marine products’, ‘engineering goods and auto components’, ‘leather and footwear’, ‘textile and clothing’ and ‘chemicals and pharmaceuticals’ will be eliminated.”
The MOCI, however, reportedly informed that “India has excluded several sensitive sectors from tariff concessions, like ‘dairy products’, ‘cereals’, ‘millets’, ‘edible oils’, ‘oilseeds’, ‘apples’, and ‘several vegetable products’.”
The MOCI also reportedly said that “UK has offered one of its most comprehensive services packages, covering ‘all major sectors’ and ‘137 sub-sectors of export interest to India’, while “Indian service providers are expected to benefit in areas like ‘Information Technology (IT)’, ‘IT-enabled services’, ‘Financial services’, ‘Healthcare’, ‘Education’, ‘Engineering’, ‘Telecommunications’, and ‘Consultancy’.”
It has further been reported that, “The agreement creates mobility for ‘business visitors’, ‘intra-corporate transferees’, ‘contractual service suppliers’, ‘independent professionals’, and ‘investors’. In addition, ‘1,800 Indian chefs’, ‘yoga instructors’ and ‘classical musicians’ would receive dedicated mobility opportunities every year.”
So far the ‘Double Contribution Convention (DCC)’ agreement is concerned, it has been reported that, “DCC would exempt Indian professionals temporarily posted to the UK from paying social security contributions in both countries, while the exemption period has been increased from three (03) years to five (05) years, and more than 75,000 Indian professionals and over 900 Indian companies are expected to be reap the benefits.”
Similarly, the UK Government reportedly stated that the agreement is expected to “increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion annually in the long term, increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion, and raise real wages by £2.2 billion.”
Reportedly highlighting several tariff reductions in India, the UK Government stated, “duty on whisky reduced from 150% to 40%, automotive tariffs reduced from 100% to 10% under a quota system, and tariffs of up to 22% on cosmetics eliminated immediately or phased out over time.”
