India and the United Kingdom have announced that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will come into force on July 15, 2026. The agreements aim to boost trade and improve market access for Indian businesses in the UK.
The India-UK trade agreement follows the completion of all internal procedures and ratifications by both countries. The groundwork began in May 2021 under the Enhanced Trade Partnership and the India-UK Roadmap 2030, which set a target of achieving $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.
After 14 rounds of negotiations, CETA was concluded on May 6, 2025 and signed in London on July 24, 2025 by India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and the UK’s Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“The simultaneous enforcement of the CETA on 15th July 2026 will open up significant new opportunities for India’s exports. By securing immediate duty-free access on 99% of our tariff lines, we have systematically dismantled long-standing tariff walls. This will effectively level the playing field, allowing our textiles, leather and other sectors to compete with no disadvantage and supply their world class products.
– Piyush Goyal, Commerce and Industry Minister, Government of India
The 30-chapter agreement covers goods, services, digital trade, telecommunications, financial services, intellectual property, government procurement, innovation, SMEs, sustainability and transparency.
Indian exporters will receive duty-free access to the UK market, with tariffs of up to 70% on processed food, 16% on leather and footwear products and 8% on chemical products reduced to zero.
The agreement is expected to provide a major boost to India’s leather, footwear and leather goods sector.
During FY 2025-26, India’s exports of leather, leather products and footwear to the UK reached $419.67 million.
Exports included:
Leather footwear worth $228.7 million,
Leather goods worth $102.2 million,
Saddlery and Harness worth $32.1 million,
Leather garments worth $28.9 million,
Footwear components worth $18.8 million,
Non leather footwear worth $8.2 million and
Finished leather worth $593,947.
The agreement is expected to benefit a wide range of Indian MSMEs, startups and professionals while supporting India’s goal of becoming a globally integrated, resilient and competitive economy under the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
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