India and the UK are engaged in negotiations for a free trade agreement and are not bound by any specific deadline, according to a senior government official. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal stated that the two nations are working towards resolving the complex issues at hand as soon as possible. He emphasized that the discussions are being conducted diligently and within predetermined timelines, but without imposing any strict deadlines. Nidhi Mani Tripathi, Joint Secretary in the Commerce Ministry and India's chief negotiator for the agreement, highlighted the ongoing efforts to address outstanding issues through continuous exchanges.

The issues under negotiation encompass various sectors such as social security, automobiles, medical devices, movement of professionals, rules of origin, intellectual property rights, and duty concessions on electric vehicles, scotch whiskey, lamb meat, and chocolates. Both India and the UK have expressed their priorities and demands in the negotiations. India seeks a social security agreement to prevent double contributions, while talks are also progressing on a proposed bilateral investment treaty.

The trade volume between India and the UK has seen a growth from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22 to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23. The 'rules of origin' provision is an essential aspect of the agreement, which ensures that a certain amount of processing occurs in the FTA country for a product to be classified as originating from that country. This provision prevents the dumping of goods from third countries by requiring a specific value addition to export to India. Additionally, India is exploring the possibility of broadening its existing free trade agreement with Australia, and negotiations are set to begin with Peru and Sri Lanka.