New Delhi: India exported goods worth over $140 million to Britain at zero import duty on the first day of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) coming into force on Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal said.Over 50 export consignments worth over US$ 140 million were flagged off from over 20 ports, airports, inland container depots (ICDs), special economic zones (SEZs) and factories across the country.The consignments included electronics, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, textiles and other products, and were shipped through air cargo complexes in Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad as well as gateways such as Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Chennai ports.Describing CETA as “one of India’s most ambitious trade agreements ever”, Agarwal said the agreement was reached after more than 800 technical sessions across 14 rounds of negotiations.“This is a win-win agreement between the two countries, which will have an impact on economic relations,” he said.The agreement provides duty-free access to approximately 99 per cent of Indian exports to the UK, benefiting sectors including leather, footwear, textiles, mechanical and electrical machinery, plastics, base metals, marine products and gems and jewellery. Earlier, import duty on these products ranged from 2 percent to 16 percent.Aggarwal said the commerce department will work with export promotion councils to help exporters and industrial groups utilize the benefits of the agreement.British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron said the trade agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade by more than GBP 25 billion annually in the long term and contribute about GBP 5 billion annually to the GDP of both countries.
