Lauding the deal, Sudhir Sekhri, chairman of AEPC, said, “This landmark free trade agreement between India and the UK is expected to boost RMG exports and help in employment generation.
Against the backdrop of demand contraction in major economies, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Israel-Hamas war, American reciprocal tariffs, and Chinese belligerence, uncertainty and disruption were impacting global trade adversely.”
This deal has come as a boon, immediately removing the tariff disadvantage of 9.6% and making us competitive in the UK market. Now the Made in India RMG will be cheaper on UK shelves, and we will be at par with some of our major competitors who enjoyed duty-free access in the UK market,” Chairman AEPC added.
Sekhri thanked Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his visionary leadership and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goel for the relentless effort in concluding the deal with the UK.
Further, Sekhri noted that “India is the 4th largest supplier of garments, with 6.1% share of the total RMG import of the UK. The RMG exports to the UK from India grew by 7.8% between April – March 2024-25 compared to April March 2023-24. The total RMG exports to the UK amounted to 1.4 billion USD 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 said.
China has remained the top supplier of RMG to the UK with a 25.4 % share in 2024. Bangladesh and Turkey have a share of 19.9% and 7.9 %, respectively. The top products imported by the UK from India includes(i) T-shirts, singlets, and other vests of cotton, knitted or crocheted; (ii) Women's or girls' dresses of cotton; and (iii) Babies' garments and clothing accessories of cotton, knitted or crocheted, Chairman AEPC informed.
Huge opportunities offered by this deal, coupled with the complementary nature of two economies and synergy across sectors, will help in the rapid growth and expansion of the apparel business by providing a competitive edge over our competing countries, the chairman of AEPC noted.