The 6th May, 2025 brought with it the long-awaited announcement of a Free Trade Agreement finally being agreed between the UK and India. Espace Global Freight, a Staffordshire based SME freight forwarder have been following negotiations for some time.
“The board decided three years ago to specifically focus our long-term business strategy on the UK-India bilateral trade lane” said Geoff Yates, Commercial Director of Espace. “Our business has always focussed heavily on trade to and from the EU but scanning the global economy, we realised early on there would be massive scope for growth between the UK and India.”
Indeed, the FTA has been chased by numerous iterations of Conservative Governments with former PM Boris Johnson saying a “deal would be done by Diwali” back in 2023. History will prove negotiations were significantly more complex and a read through the “UK-India trade deal: conclusion summary” published on Gov.uk highlights significant compromises made by both parties.
“We’re probably still a full year away from the implementation of the agreement and more details will be released along the way”, commented Yates. “In terms of exports from the UK to India we expect businesses in automotive, aerospace, and advanced manufacturers in medical and electrical machinery sectors to be big beneficiaries to the newly opened market.” Other winners are expected in food and beverage verticals too with tariffs on whisky, gin and soft drinks to be significantly and consistently reduced.
In conjunction with the reductions in tariffs, the agreement promises to greatly reduce customs formalities on both sides, reduce technical barriers to trade and reaffirm standards like sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) which will all contribute to trade openness, all of which are especially important to SME traders which may have struggled to justify the spend to open the Indian market.
SMEs are specifically mentioned in their own chapter where the agreement commits to cooperation and information sharing to reduce trade barriers that SMEs may otherwise face. “The aim is to set up contact points and facilitate exchange of best practice and make information on both sides of the agreement more accessible and understandable. As an SME ourselves, we understand the difficulties of international trade and we always try and help startups and established businesses alike navigate borders – processes which have become increasingly important since Brexit.”
Espace Global Freight celebrate their 25th trading anniversary in May 2025. If you have freight to move in the UK or internationally, or want to export for the first time, email their experts on solutions@espaceglobalfreight.com or phone 01543 418700. www.espaceglobalfreight.com