Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman, AEPC opines, the landmark free trade agreement between India and the UK is expected to boost India’s RMG exports and help it generate new employment. Signed against the backdrop of demand contraction in major economies, Russia-Ukraine conflict, Israel-Hamas war, American reciprocal tariff and Chinese belligerence, the deal proves as a boon making India more competitive in the UK market. The FTA makes ‘Made in India’ RMG cheaper in the UK and brings it on par with some of its major competitors who enjoyed duty-free access in the UK market, he adds.

Thanking Narender Modi, Prime Minister for his visionary leadership and Piyush Goel, Union Commerce Minister for the relentless effort in concluding the deal, Sekhri notes, with a 6.1 per cent share in the UK’s total RMG imports, India is the fourth largest supplier of garments. RMG exports to the UK from India grew by 7.8 per cent between April – March 2024-25 compared to April March 2023-24. The total RMG exports to the UK amounted to $1.4 billion during the same period. With this deal in place, India is all poised to double the RMG exports to the UK in the next three years, he adds.

China remained the top supplier of RMG to the UK with 25.4 per cent share in 2024. Bangladesh and Turkey have a share of 19.9 per cent and 7.9 per cent, respectively. The top products imported by UK from India includes: (i) T-shirts, singlets and other vests of cotton, knitted or crocheted; (ii) Women's or girls' dresses of cotton; (iii) Babies' garments and clothing accessories of cotton, knitted or crocheted, informs Sekhri.

Huge opportunities offered by this deal coupled with the complementary nature of two economies and synergy across sectors will help in rapid growth and expansion of apparel business by providing competitive edge over our competing countries, notes Sekhri.