Sajid Javid to meet Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Post Brexit

Business Secretary Sajid Javid will be in Delhi today (8 July 2016) where he will launch initial discussions on the UK’s future trade relationship with India
first in a series of visits to key trade partners the Business Secretary is expected to undertake across the globe
Business Secretary also confirms government will rapidly build its expertise on trade, with up to 300 specialist staff to be in place by year end

Business Secretary Sajid Javid will kick-off preliminary trade talks with India later today (8 July 2016) when he meets the Indian Finance and Commerce Ministers during a series of discussions in Delhi.

The Business Secretary will use meetings with Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to outline his vision for what a future trade relationship between the UK and India might look like outside the EU.

It is the first in a series of trade meetings the Business Secretary will conduct over the coming months, which also is expected to include trips to the USA, China, Japan and South Korea.

The Business Secretary has also confirmed that to aid in discussions, the government plans to rapidly build its trade capability – up to 300 specialist staff, including new trade negotiators – by the end of the year.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:

Following the referendum result, my absolute priority is making sure theUK has the tools it needs to continue to compete on the global stage.

That is why I am in India today to launch these initial trade discussions. There is a strong bilateral trade relationship between our 2 countries and I am determined that we build on this.

Over the coming months, I will be conducting similar meetings with other key trade partners, outlining the government’s vision for what the UK’s future trade relationship might look like.

As part of the discussions, the Business Secretary is expected to make clear that he would like the UK and India to have a trade agreement in place as soon as possible after the UK leaves the EU.

The Business Secretary has also been speaking to British diplomats this week, urging them to utilise their expertise and meet with their governments and local investors to make clear the UK remains an open and viable trade partner.

Speaking at the FCO Leadership Conference on Tuesday (5 July 2016), the Business Secretary urged diplomats to make it known to their countries’ governments that the UK was looking to expand its options for trade deals.

Trade and Investment Minister Lord Price has been in Hong Kong and China this week, attending the G20 trade ministers meeting in Shanghai and meeting key government and business representatives. This is part of the government’s engagement with key trade partners, reinforcing the UK’s ongoing commitment to maintaining and strengthening the economic relationship between the countries.

Alongside visiting Delhi, the Business Secretary will also be in Mumbai where he will meet senior Tata Group board members to discuss the ongoing sale of their UK steelmaking assets.

India and the UK have always had traditionally close trade ties: the UK is the largest G20 investor in India, while India invests more in the UK than the rest of the European Union combined. India has also emerged as the third largest source of FDI for the UK.

1.Last year, bilateral trade in goods and services between the 2 countries was £16.55 billion (in goods was £11.43 billion while trade in services was £5.11 billion)

2.According to the government of India data, the UK is the third largest investor in India for the period April 2000 to September 2015, with cumulative inflows of $22.5 billion.

3.In 2014 to 2015, the UK won a record number of investment projects and is India’s top investment destination in Europe. India is also Britain’s third biggest job creator in 2014, with a 65% increase in FDI.

4.A new industry report by CII and Grant Thornton tracking Indian companies based in the UK has revealed that many of them are boosting growth rates in the country, registering a combined increase in revenue of £4 billion: from £22 billion in 2014 to £26 billion in 2015.

5.According to London and Partners in 2015 Indians also become the second biggest job creators in London. Indian companies created 504 new jobs this year in London alone - second only to the Americans who created 1983 jobs.

6.In 2014 to 2015 Indian investments in 122 FDI projects created 7,730 new jobs and safeguarded 1,620 jobs in UK.

The business secretary will also visit the US, China, Japan and South Korea in the coming months.

7.India is the third biggest foreign investor in the UK, according to UK Trade and Investment.

Total trade between the two countries was £16.55bn last year, the government body said.

Mr Javid said: "There is a strong bilateral trade relationship between our two countries and I am determined that we build on this."

Brexit supporters argue the UK will be able to negotiate better trade deals with fast-growing economies such as India than it currently has as an EU member.

Jaguar F-Type themed UK Flag livery wrap, Jaguar Land Rover [pictured aboved]

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in a statement on Friday said that the Britons' decision to exit European Union will not affect the company and it is "business as usual." The company said that it can manage the long-term impact and implications of the decision, insisting "nothing will change" overnight for it and the automotive industry.

"For Jaguar Land Rover, today is just business as usual. We are a British business with a strong manufacturing base in this country, we call Britain home and we remain committed to all our manufacturing sites and investment decisions," a JLR spokesperson said in a statement a day after the UK Vote leave Decision.

New Jaguar F pace in Jaguar Landrover portfolio

'Friendly governments'

To help redraw those trade relationships, the UK government this week announced plans for a new team of up to 300 specialist staff, including trade negotiators, by the end of the year.

However, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond admitted on Thursday the UK would rely on "friendly governments" to help bolster its staff.

"The government will have to acquire additional trade negotiation resources," Mr Hammond told a committee of MPs.

"We will look to friendly governments to assist us, as well as seeking to hire the best resources available on the open market."

The EU has trade agreements with 52 countries and it is expected the UK will need to re-negotiate these as part of Brexit.

Commonwealth countries accounted for about 10%, or £47.8bn, of UK exports in 2014, whereas about 44%, or £228.9bn, were with the EU.

Indian businesses in the UK

110,000

people employed by Indian companies operating in the UK

12 Indian companies each employ more than 1,000 people in the UK
69,000 work for Tata Group, which owns 5 of those 12 firms
33,000 of those work for Tata Motors, which owns Jaguar Land Rover

Grant Thornton India Tracker 2016

Indian investment

Indian-owned companies employ about 110,000 people in the UK and grew revenue by £4bn to £26bn last year, according to a report by Grant Thornton.

Tata Motors, which owns Jaguar Land Rover added an extra 4,000 jobs to employ nearly 33,000 people, the report said.

Meanwhile, sister business, Tata Global Beverages, which owns Tetley Tea, employs over 1,000 UK workers. Tata Steel also has significant UK operations, despite putting many of its steel plants up for sale earlier this year.

During his trip, the business secretary will also meet with senior Tata board members to discuss the possible steelworks sale.

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