MS, Cabinet Secretary for
Economy, Energy and Planning: The UK and India governments have
formally signed a new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) today.
Negotiations have now been completed, and the agreement is on
course to be ratified and brought into force over the coming
months.
India is an important partner and market for Wales. Goods trade
between India and Wales was valued at £795.1m in the year ending
March 2025 of which imports and exports were valued at £596.8m
and £198.3m respectively. This makes India our 13th largest
export market and 10th largest import market. Latest
services trade data for 2022 estimates the value of services
trade to be around £373m. India is also currently the 5th
largest investor in Wales with 45 investment projects since
2012.
As with any FTA, this deal will provide practical benefits and
trade opportunities to Welsh businesses, particularly for our
food and drinks sector, and our advanced manufacturing sector. I
am particularly pleased to see the inclusion of sustainable trade
chapters in areas such as environment and gender in the final
agreement. This is the first time that India has agreed to
provisions as comprehensive as these.
Engagement between the UK government and the devolved governments
on this FTA has been positive and commendable, acting as an
example of effective and good collaboration that should be
replicated in other trade policy areas and trade negotiations.
Now that the full treaty text and impact assessment is available,
my officials will conduct a full assessment and publish a report
detailing our perspective on the FTA and its potential impact on
Wales.
This statement is being issued during recess in order to keep
members informed. Should members wish me to make a further
statement or to answer questions on this when the Senedd returns
I would be happy to do so.
