India’s trade chief returns to London as Delhi closes in on UK deal

LONDON — India’s trade chief Piyush Goyal returned to London to continue trade talks with U.K. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Friday.

Goyal returned after he and Reynolds pushed negotiations for a U.K.-India trade deal close to the finish line during a two-day negotiating sprint earlier this week.

A U.K. government spokesperson confirmed Goyal’s return to the capital.

Reynolds and Goyal are hoping to sign an agreement in principle for the deal this weekend in expectation that Prime Ministers Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi would then finalize the deal later this year.

The two nations are also negotiating a Bilateral Investment Treaty in parallel with the trade deal.

Last month both sides overcame a significant hurdle in the talks when they closed the mobility chapter, which governs inter-company transfers. India conceded Britain will only offer minor changes to its visa regime.

Goyal left the U.K. earlier this week for a trip to Oslo and then Brussels. The visits were focused on carving out exemptions to new carbon tax regimes.

At the time negotiators had yet to resolve several key issues in the talks. Among them were data localization rules India imposes on financial services firms; the description of Indian territory in the Free Trade Agreement; the sunset clause in the investment treaty; and India’s calls for carve-outs from Britain’s nascent border tax on high-emissions commodities.

“We have advanced that agenda to deliver a great deal and our relationship's been a part of that story,” Reynolds posted online following Goyal’s visit at the start of the week.

“I am looking forward to us continuing this work because I think it's an important message for the UK and for India,” he said.

“We have been clear we will only sign a deal that is fair, balanced and ultimately in the best interests of the British people,” the U.K. government spokesperson said.