Sir Keir Starmer is set to sign one of his landmark trade deal with India prime minister Narendra Modi which has already unleashed billions of investment in the UK.
The signing of the trade deal with India after years of negotiation marks a triumph for Sir Keir, who has also achieved a Brexit reset agreement with the EU and a deal with Donald Trump to tackle the US president’s new tariffs.
It comes as the India prime minister visits the UK on a trip aimed to build relations between the two countries.
According to the government, the deal which was agreed in May, has already resulted in £6 billion in investment for the British economy.
The prime minister and his Indian counterpart also agreed ahead of their meeting on Thursday to ramp up joint efforts to tackle illegal migration and organised crime.
The UK-India trade deal is understood to be the largest of its kind for its economic impact on Britain.
It will see tariffs on an array of British goods reduced from an average of 15 per cent to 3 per cent, with the aim of boosting the £11 billion of imports into the south Asian nation which is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Whisky tariffs will be slashed in half, according to the government, and will fall further over successive years, while other industries including soft drinks, cars and cosmetics are also expected to see cheaper duties.
Before his meeting with Mr Modi to confirm the deal, Sir Keir said: “Our landmark trade deal with India is a major win for Britain. It will create thousands of British jobs across the UK, unlock new opportunities for businesses and drive growth in every corner of the country, delivering on our Plan for Change.
“We’re putting more money in the pockets of hardworking Brits and helping families with the cost of living, and we’re determined to go further and faster to grow the economy and raise living standards across the UK.”
The deal is expected to result in 2,200 jobs across the country and £6 billion investment by British and Indian businesses.
Meanwhile, 26 British companies have secured new business in India. Airbus & Rolls-Royce will soon begin delivering Airbus aircraft – with over half powered by Rolls-Royce engines – to major Indian airlines as part of around £5 billion worth of contracts recently agreed.
These orders will help sustain hundreds of jobs across their respective sites in Filton, Broughton and Derby.
A total of 18 firms have confirmed new investment including Zerowatt Energy, AI powered energy intelligence platform is setting up its Global HQ in Leicester. The firm will invest £10m and create 50 new jobs across Leicester, Manchester, Edinburgh and London over the next three years.
Among the other businesses to benefit are Carbon Clean, a UK-based leader in carbon capture, with projected UK export contributions of £83 million over the next five years, has invested £7.6 million in a Global Innovation Centre in Mumbai. The deal will unlock 250 jobs across London, Glasgow and Huddersfield as well as 100 jobs in Mumbai.
AI and data services company, DCube AI, is investing £5 million in the UK, unlocking 50 jobs across Manchester and London in the next three years to strength its technology offering to UK customers.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the investment will “reach all regions and nations of the UK so working people in every community can feel the benefits”.
He added: “The almost £6 billion in new investment and export wins announced today will deliver thousands of jobs and shows the strength of our partnership with India as we ensure the UK is the best place in the world to invest and do business.”
The UK and India are also bolstering co-operation on tackling corruption, fraud, organised crime and illegal migration, by sharing criminal records and other intelligence.
The deal has not given the UK as much access as it would have liked to India’s financial and legal services industries.
The agreement promises some benefits for the UK’s financial services, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves understood to have pushed on behalf of the sector in discussions with her Indian counterpart.
But more wide-ranging access was not agreed, and talks continue on a bilateral investment treaty aimed at protecting British investments in India and vice versa.
The two nations also continue to discuss UK plans for a tax on high-carbon industries, which India believes could hit its imports unfairly.
Negotiations on the deal began when Boris Johnson was prime minister in 2022, and were concluded in May this year.
Labour sought to portray closing the deal, as well as trade agreements with the US and the EU, as evidence of the Government’s pragmatism and global outlook.
But shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said it had only been made possible “because of Brexit delivered by the Conservatives”.
He added: “Any trade deal that can successfully cut regulation which stops Britain’s makers from creating new jobs and wealth will be a step in the right direction.
“But the irony should not be lost on anyone that any gains from this trade deal will be blown out of the water by (Deputy Prime Minister) Angela Rayner’s union charter, stifling business with red tape, the jobs tax and, come autumn, Rachel Reeves’ inevitable tax hikes that will punish Britain’s makers just to reward those who do not contribute.”
Elsewhere, Sir Keir is facing calls to raise the case of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British citizen who has been detained in India since 2017, when the Prime Minister meets Mr Modi.
The Scottish Sikh is accused of being a member of the Khalistan Liberation Force, which is banned as a terror group in India.
His family say he is being arbitrarily detained, with his brother Gurpreet Singh Johal insisting the matter should be “high on the agenda when the prime ministers meet”
