Ranil Jayawardena was appointed as UK’s Minister for International Trade in May 2020. He spoke to media, including Asian Voice, on how a UK-India FTA deal will help level up the UK, focusing on specific nations and regions of the UK.
In 2019 almost 30,000 people were employed because of Indian investment in the West Midlands. The region could see a boost of up to £300m with opportunities for manufacturers of motor vehicles and parts.
Q: A senior member of the Tory party feels that Britain is being held at ransom by India for FTA, asking for looser immigration rules. Can you tell us what is your party’s actual perspective?
A: There's been so much speculation on this. This is the kickoff of negotiations. We will only agree on a deal if it is in our national interest, including on issues related to business travel. If you look at the deals we've done in the past, you know, there's been efforts to make sure the business travellers can benefit from the deals and businesses are able to benefit from the deals. Of course, we have created a level playing field in immigration for the first time in 50 years, having left the EU, where we can now have a points-based immigration system, which means that every country is treated fairly, which wasn't the case when we are part of the EU. And that's why so many of us campaigned for Brexit.
Q: Can Northern Ireland fully benefit from any fruits of a trade deal with India under the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol?
A: Every part of our United Kingdom will indeed benefit from our trade deal with India, and Northern Ireland's world-class services sector, particularly financial services, which I was part of myself before I entered politics would indeed, stand to benefit from such a deal. And I think if you think about future trade deals, is going to be increasingly about things like data and digital and I think the economy in India could offer huge opportunities for the blossoming tech sector in Northern Ireland. The figures speak for themselves. The analysis that we've got, show that something like an extra 71 million pounds a year would find its way into the Northern Irish economy in the long run as part of this FTA. Exports of goods and services, whether that be financial services or things like medicine and pharmaceuticals - there are significant opportunities there.
Q: There's a huge number of companies that are Indian owned already in the West Midlands region. Do you think it's got potential to encourage new business development and improve the already strong existing links between the Indian community in the West Midlands, and back in their motherland? What are the benefits going to be to the West Midlands from this deal?
A: A huge number of jobs have been created in the West Midlands, because of investment. I think almost 13,000 people in the region were employed in 2019, because of Indian investments in the region. And I think there will be a boost of something that 300 million pounds because of opportunities for manufacturers of motor vehicles and parts.
Too often investment is overlooked in public discourse, and it's important that investment creates jobs.
Q: How can Wales benefit specifically from this deal?
A: I was recently in Wales in early December, and I met our new head of our office in Wales. We are absolutely committed as Her Majesty's Government is responsible for the United Kingdom's reserve policies of which trade is one to work with anyone and everyone across the United Kingdom- in the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, but also with mayors and local enterprise partnerships across England, to back businesses in every corner of our country.
FTA with India will benefit businesses in Wales and its people. It is estimated to boost the economy by up to something like 126 million pounds in the long run. So given that Wales is already a leader in things like green energy, with renewable initiatives, like floating offshore wind operators, or hydroelectric plants, the green energy sector is a great example of the development of a product that friends in India and indeed around the world will want to benefit from in the years ahead.
Q: We know that India has always had very protectionist policies. We have the whole issue regarding retrospective taxing with Ghana and Vodafone, which are British companies. So how positive is the British government that India would offer a seamless experience? How is the government approaching this problem?
A: There are rapidly growing opportunities in India as the economy grows, which I think we will see in a whole host of sectors. There are opportunities that exist, and British businesses will be well placed to support growth now. That growth will be based upon stability and predictability in the system. Our services already today, exports to India amount, something like three 3.2 billion pounds as the world's second-largest services exporter. The United Kingdom is I think, well placed to help India grow its own economy and in the years ahead in a mutually beneficial relationship. I say we are the world's second-largest services exports, but we're probably the world's greatest services exporter.
Britain and India’s financial markets are already interconnected. 35 companies from India are listed on the London Stock Exchange, already. The investment relationship has set out not only the jobs in the West Midlands, because of the investment from businesses but across the country and resulted in a huge number of jobs being supporting each other's economy. So, I think an FTA will not only further the support and collaboration that we need but create an environment in which businesses can thrive.
