UK’s new government to restart trade talks with India, GCC

Britain’s new government said on Monday it was restarting talks aimed at securing free trade agreements (FTAs) with India and countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour Party returned to government after 14 years in opposition following a landslide victory at a July 4 election, has made economic growth the central mission of his government.

Trade talks were paused during the election.

“Restarting talks is the first step towards agreeing the high-quality trade deals the UK needs to give businesses access to international markets, boost jobs and deliver that growth,” the government said in a statement.

The trade department said the first round of negotiations under the new government were expected to take place in the autumn and would include fresh talks with Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey.

Britain already has FTAs with those four countries which were rolled over when it left the European Union in 2020, but had previously launched talks aimed at updating the agreements.