* India has cited steel as cause to reopen FTA
* Trade minister Kyle says moving at pace to implement
deal
* Kyle says U.S. acknowledges efforts on forced labour
LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) – Talks between Britain and
India on implementing a free trade deal are moving quickly and
going well, trade minister Peter Kyle said, suggesting the deal
would not be reopened but could come into effect later than
expected after a dispute over steel.
Britain and India agreed a free trade deal in May 2025 and
signed it two months later, to be implemented after each country
ratified the deal, which was expected to happen within about a
year.
But Indian officials have expressed concern about steel trade
measures that Britain is due to introduce next month, and have
suggested that aspects of the trade deal could be renegotiated
as a result.
Speaking after returning from talks in Delhi on Wednesday,
Kyle played down the disagreement, citing comments by his Indian
counterpart Piyush Goyal that discussions had gone well.
“We look forward to cracking on. These things take time but
we’ve been working at breakneck speed,” Kyle told reporters
after a trade dinner in the City of London.
A British official has said talks on implementing the free
trade agreement (FTA) were separate to the steel trade
measures.
Asked if the deal could be reopened, Kyle said: “I’m not
negotiating in public or via the media, but the FTA is what it
is.” He hinted that its implementation might come later in the
year.
“If we implemented the deal in autumn this year, it would be
the fastest implementation period of any trade deal that Britain
has ever signed.”
Indian officials had previously said they expected the
agreement to be implemented by May, although Britain has not put
a precise timescale on talks.
Kyle also looked to reassure on the prospect of new U.S. tariffs
over forced labour, saying Washington had acknowledged UK
efforts on the issue and that Britain faced no new tariffs for
the moment.
“(The) report vindicates our approach because they named the
British legislation and put us in the highest category of any of
their partner countries,” Kyle said, adding a UK-U.S. trade deal
agreed last year was not impacted.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Toby Chopra)
