India, Britain launch talks on free trade deal

By ASHOK SHARMA
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Britain have launched talks on a free trade deal that is expected to boost bilateral trade by billions of dollars in one of the most ambitious negotiations after Brexit. Britain’s International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan met with Piyush Goyal, India’s minister of commerce and industry, in New Delhi before formal talks next week. Trevelyan told reporters it was the first of her important trade engagements this year as Britain sets out on its independent journey after leaving the EU in 2016. Goyal said the free trade agreement, expected to be finalized in one year, will double the current trade of $50 billion by 2030. Britain is angling for a deal that slashes barriers, including tariffs on exports of British-made cars and Scotch whisky.