British companies are poised to gain from a "first mover" advantage ahead of the US and European Union (EU) in India as a result of a free trade agreement (FTA), which has the potential to overshadow other major UK trade deals, a new UK think-tank analysis said on Wednesday.
The Resolution Foundation is examining the economic impact of the UK's new trade pivot towards the Indo-Pacific region following Brexit.
In 'A presage to India?', its latest report for "The Economy2030 Inquiry" with the London School of Economics (LSE) funded by the Nuffield Foundation, it noted that the economic benefits of a trade deal with India could eventually be even bigger than the "now defunct" trade deal with the US.
"UK firms exporting to India currently face far higher tariffs (19 per cent, on average) than they do to the US (2 per cent), so there is far more scope for trade liberalisation. Securing an FTA with India could also give UK firms a 'first mover' competitive advantage over exporting firms in the US and EU, which don't have preferential access to the Indian economy," notes the Resolution Foundation.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
