Badenoch launches campaign to double trade with India by 2030
The cabinet minister, who arrived in India on a three-day visit to attend the G20 meet, said she hoped to further the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations
Business and trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, introduced the "Alive with Opportunity" campaign on Thursday (24).
The aim of the campaign is to facilitate the augmentation of trade with India by 2030, employing a range of focused trade missions tailored for UK enterprises operating within rapidly expanding industries.
The cabinet minister, who arrived in India on a three-day visit to attend the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting in Jaipur and hold bilateral talks with commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi, said she hoped to further the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations – now in their twelfth round of negotiations.
Additionally, the new GBP 1.5-million “GREAT” marketing blitz is aimed at going beyond the strong bilateral business and trade links to highlight shared cultural interests – from football and cricket, to food and film.
“I'm delighted to be returning to India to support their G20 Presidency, further our trade talks and meet key business leaders,” Badenoch said on the eve of her visit.
“The UK and India have a thriving relationship and we both share an ambition to deepen our cultural and trading ties. India is the UK's second biggest source of investment projects and I'm confident this new campaign will help boost interest in and demand for UK goods and services even further,” she said.
While at the G20 trade meet, the UK's Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said the minister will pitch for greater deployment of digital trade, which will cut red tape and make it easier for UK businesses of all sizes to buy and sell internationally.
Her visit coincides with Round 12 of the FTA talks being hosted by New Delhi and her meeting with Goyal will “take stock” of negotiations and agree how to progress a deal, which is expected to boost bilateral trade already worth GBP 36 billion in 2022.
The UK government said both sides have come forward with an ambitious set of asks and the latest phase of negotiations covers “complex, sensitive, and commercially meaningful issues” – including goods, services, and investment.
The DBT reiterated that the focus remains on getting the best deal for both sides, which will be signed only when there is a deal that is “fair, reciprocal and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the UK economy.”
In New Delhi, Badenoch is also scheduled to meet some of India's major businesses across a range of sectors, including BP, HSBC, Vodafone, Rolls Royce and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Friday.
She will hold a bilateral with Tata Group chair Natarajan Chandrasekaran, following the company's announcement last month of a new GBP 4-billion electric vehicles' battery gigafactory in the UK.
“With total trade growing 34 per cent in current prices in the year to March 2023 and India remaining the 2nd largest source of FDI (foreign direct investment) projects in the UK, there is no doubt that the economic relationship between our two countries is flourishing,” said Richard McCallum, UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) CEO.
“UK companies recognise that India is one of the fastest growing economies and one that is alive with opportunity in a range of sectors, including R&D, talent, and manufacturing. Indian firms are also embracing UK technology and capital to grow internationally. I'm encouraged to see the launch of this campaign, which showcases our countries' symbiotic relationship and the many cultural and trading opportunities both have to offer,” he said.
Higher education, agri-tech, and e-sports will feature as prominent sectors in a revamped series of modern, targeted UK trade missions to India over the coming year under the new DBT marketing campaign.
The “Alive with Opportunity” programme is designed to build on the UK and India's strong and enduring relationship, boost trade and investment, and promote the two nations' powerful cultural links.
The DBT said the campaign will celebrate business, trade, cultural and sporting links between the UK and India, taking advantage of major moments such as India's hosting of the Cricket World Cup from October and the England-India test series starting in January next year.
Adverts promoting the UK will feature across billboards, in airports and across social media channels in India backed by a series of targeted trade missions, promotional events and marketing activations in both countries.
Latest DBT data shows India is the UK's second largest source of investment projects, with 118 new projects in the last financial year creating 8,384 new jobs.
More than 900 Indian businesses operate in the UK, and more than 600 UK businesses are finding success in India supporting more than half a million jobs across both countries.
The new campaign aims to stimulate interest and demand for UK goods and services and attract new Indian inward investment.
Under the campaign, this month delegates from UK and Indian companies will share their innovations and expertise at the Agritech India exhibition in Bengaluru, followed by the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai in September, International Railway Equipment Exhibition in Delhi in October, and Createch Mission to Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Bengaluru in November.
In January 2024, Indian companies will visit the UK for the first UK-India Roadshow, which will take place up and down the country.
Starlink will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements. (Photo: Reuters)
INDIA’s space regulator on Wednesday granted Starlink a licence to begin commercial operations in the country, removing the final regulatory barrier for the satellite internet provider.
The company, led by Elon Musk, has been waiting since 2022 for licences to start operations in India. It received an initial approval last month from India’s telecom ministry and was waiting for clearance from the space regulator.
The licence, issued by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), is valid for five years.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Starlink had secured the licence from IN-SPACe.
Starlink is now the third company to receive approval to enter the Indian satellite communications market. India has previously cleared applications from Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio.
The company will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements.
Musk and Reliance Jio’s Mukesh Ambani had disagreed for several months over how spectrum should be allocated for satellite services. The Indian government later supported Musk’s position that spectrum should be assigned, not auctioned.
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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a 10.7 per cent drop in sales for the April–June quarter, as a temporary pause in shipments to the United States and the phase-out of Jaguar’s legacy models weighed on volumes.
The company, owned by India’s Tata Motors, sold 87,286 units to dealers worldwide during the quarter, compared to 97,755 units in the same period last year.
Retail sales dropped 15.1 per cent in the three months to the end of June, JLR said in a statement on Monday. The company cited a halt in exports to the US in April as one of the main reasons behind the decline. The pause followed the imposition of a 25 per cent duty by President Donald Trump on all foreign-made vehicles sold in the US, one of JLR's key markets.
JLR does not manufacture cars in the US. Its Range Rover lineup is produced in Britain, subject to a 10 per cent levy, while its top-selling Defender SUVs are built in Slovakia, which falls under the higher 25 per cent tariff.
North America, which accounts for around one-third of JLR’s global sales, saw a 12.2 per cent drop in volumes in the first quarter. Jaguar’s luxury sedans, SUVs and sports cars saw a 72 per cent decline in sales, falling to 2,339 units, as part of a planned wind-down of legacy models. Jaguar is set to become a fully electric brand by 2026.
Excluding Jaguar’s performance, JLR’s overall sales declined by 5.1 per cent.
In the UK, Jaguar’s sales were also affected by the phase-out of older models in preparation for its electric vehicle line-up. According to automotive trade body SMMT, British car exports to the US dropped by over 50 per cent in May. However, a new trade agreement between the UK and US is expected to support future sales. The agreement reduces tariffs on UK car exports to 10 per cent from 27.5 per cent, up to an annual limit of 100,000 vehicles.
JLR is among the top car exporters from Britain and contributes about two-thirds of Tata Motors' revenue. Both JLR and Tata Motors are expected to announce their first-quarter earnings in August.
In June, JLR revised its forecast for earnings margin before interest and taxes for the fiscal year 2026 to 5–7 per cent, down from the earlier target of 10 per cent, citing global uncertainty triggered by US tariffs.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.
Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.
"We have finalised a draft reciprocal trade agreement," Mahbubur Rahman said on Wednesday (3), adding the government was "hopeful of reaching a win-win agreement".
Rahman said a meeting between officials from both countries was slated for July 8, with the US representing 20 per cent of Bangladesh's ready-made garments exports.
Textile and garment production accounts for about 80 per cent of exports in Bangladesh and the industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard in a student-led revolution that toppled the government last year.
Trump hit Bangladesh with 37 per cent tariffs in his April 2 announcement, which is more than double the 16 per cent already placed on cotton products.
He suspended the tolls' introduction until July 9, as he did with other global trading partners, though a baseline 10 per cent levy was kept in place.
Bangladesh exported $8.36 billion worth of goods to the US in 2024, while imports from there amounted to $2.21bn, according to the Bangladesh Bank and the National Board of Revenue.
"As part of the initiative to reduce the trade gap, the government already decided to import a large volume of wheat, purchasing 14 aircraft from US manufacturer Boeing, buying cotton and more oil and gas from the US farms," Rahman said.
He did not give further details on the exact timing or extent of the proposed deals, but said the government had held around 28 meetings and document exchanges in a bid to reach an agreement.
Interim leader Muhammed Yunus spoke to US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Monday (30) and told him Dhaka was "working with your officials to finalise a package of measures to effectively respond to president Trump's trade agenda".
Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the national platform of the garment makers, expressed concerns about any deal.
"The already enacted additional 10 per cent tariff is hitting our exporters, and if it goes further, we might lose US buyers," he warned.
But Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said he was optimistic.
"We are hopeful of a positive outcome on the US tariff before July 9," he said.
"There will be a temporary problem if the US administration does not revise the tariff. But it will largely and ultimately hit the US buyers, as they would have to buy goods at higher prices."
(AFP)
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The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.
The movement followed comments from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who told BBC Radio 4's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson that he worked “in lockstep” with Reeves and said she was “doing an excellent job as chancellor.”
Analysts told the BBC that markets appeared to back Reeves, with concerns that her departure could lead to a weakening of fiscal discipline. “It looks to me like this is a rare example of financial markets actually enhancing the career prospects of a politician,” said Will Walker Arnott of Charles Stanley. “If the chancellor goes then any fiscal discipline would follow her out the door and that would mean bigger deficits.”
Mohamed El-Erian of Allianz warned that risk premiums may persist. “I suspect that we will see some moderation, but we will not go back to where we were 24 hours ago,” he said.
Reeves, who became tearful during PMQs after a U-turn on planned welfare reforms that left a £5bn gap in her financial plans, said on Thursday she had been upset due to a personal issue. A Treasury spokesperson also confirmed it was a personal matter.
Reeves told the BBC that the welfare changes would be reflected in the Budget and reaffirmed her commitment to fiscal rules. Jane Foley of Rabobank said Reeves now faces difficult choices but added, “investors do place a lot of store in political stability.”