India-UK first-ever virtual JETCO to discuss trade ties

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Hardeep Singh Puri held a virtual dialogue on Wednesday with his UK counterpart, Minister for International Trade Ranil Jayawardena, ahead of the first-ever virtual India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO).

Puri, who also holds an Independent Charge as Minister of State for Civil Aviation, participated in the preparatory meeting for the forthcoming 14th JETCO talks planned for next Friday between Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss.

“As the UK leaves the European Union, both sides are exploring the building blocks that would allow for more ambitious trade arrangements in the future. Both sides have identified five sectors, namely, food and drink, information communications technology (ICT), life sciences and services and chemicals to address non-tariff barriers to trade,” the Indian High Commission in the UK said in a statement in reference to the forthcoming JETCO to be hosted by New Delhi.

Last week, during India Global Week 2020, Truss had revealed that the next JETCO summit to discuss trade and economic ties will take place virtually in light of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

“On the trade side, we are not letting the grass grow under our feet and the UK and India are carrying on negotiations virtually given the current crisis,” she said.

Later, addressing a separate session of the virtual summit from New Delhi, Goyal had reiterated that India remains ready to strike an early post-Brexit deal with the UK with further details to follow later.

"Free trade agreement (FTA) should be our goal, but we can do a PTA (preferential trade agreement) in an immediate future," said Goyal.

“The choice is of the UK," he said.

Goyal said that he is open to having his officers sit down and talk to the officers in the UK morning to evening and "give them a 15-30 days window not to get out of that room till they finalise at least an initial early harvest before we can look at a longer-term PTA.”