By Jessica Frank-Keyes
Securing a trade deal with India isn’t guaranteed before the general election, Greg Hands has said.
The trade minister insisted negotiations with the south Asian country were “about the deal, not the date” and would not commit to an agreement being signed before the election.
Hands, who was appointed minister of state for trade policy in Rishi Sunak’s November reshuffle, spoke to City A.M. ahead of the department announcing a third round of funding to boost British overseas services exports.
Asked whether there would be a deal before Sunak goes to the polls, expected to be in the second half of 2024, Hands said: “We’re working very hard – the 14th round [of negotiations] started just last week.
“We’re working very hard on this but the secretary of state and others have always been absolutely clear. It’s all about the deal, not about the date, the best possible deal for the UK.”
Trade negotiators are in Delhi currently in discussions with Narendra Modi’s government on nailing down the details, which Hands said were “live” and “making progress”.
Contention has reportedly been focused around disagreement over levels of immigration, with Indian counterparts keen to see the UK welcome more foreign student visas.
Pushed on the commitment to a deal before an election, he insisted: “What’s most important is what is going to be in the deal rather than the date of the deal and obviously we don’t know when the election will be.
“I’m just saying that we’re working very hard on the negotiation. We’re negotiating at the moment with India. That’s the priority. It’s the deal, not a date.”
It came as the government pledged £500,000 to help UK professionals such as architects, auditors and accountants export their services around the world.
Regulators can apply for grants of up to £75,000 to strike deals to get UK qualifications recognised overseas and help firms win international contracts.
Hands said the scheme was “fantastically important” and called the UK a “powerhouse when it comes to professional business services and related services”.
He added: “80 per cent of our economy by both GDP and employment is services. We’re the world’s second largest exporter of services after the US so everything we can do to make it easier to export those services, I think is incredibly valuable.”
Last year, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt signed what he called a “groundbreaking” deal with Switzerland on financial services, encompassing “mutual recognition” of qualifications.
