India and United Kingdom Hold 16th JETCO Meeting in New Delhi, Agree to Double Bilateral Trade by 2030 Under CETA

Key facts

• The 16th meeting of the India–UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was held in New Delhi on 12 October 2026, co-chaired by India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Jonathan Reynolds; it was the first JETCO since negotiations for the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) began in January 2022.
• India and the UK aim to double bilateral trade by 2030 and identified five priority areas for cooperation: infrastructure and clean energy; advanced manufacturing and supply chains; technology and innovation; financial services; and healthcare and consumer goods.
• The two countries agreed to exchange data annually, starting one year after CETA's entry into force, on how businesses use the agreement, including how often they claim lower tariffs, to help more companies, especially small and medium-sized businesses, benefit from the pact.
• India and the UK agreed a plan for smooth operation of CETA, including establishing its committees and working groups and confirming government-to-government contact points for every part of the agreement.
• The 17th JETCO meeting will take place in the United Kingdom in 2027, and both sides agreed that high-level delegation visits will continue to maintain momentum.
• On the day CETA entered into force, Indian exporters sent more than 50 consignments to the UK, including smartphones, machinery, gold jewellery, garments and tea and coffee; the first tariff-free Scottish salmon reached India within a fortnight, Scotch whisky entered under reduced tariffs, and the first cars under the tariff-rate quota cleared customs.
• Goyal said India could expand exports of smartphones, pharmaceuticals, jewellery, textiles, leather goods, rice, agricultural products, iron and non-alloy steel, machinery parts and automobile components, while the UK has export opportunities in petroleum products, electronics and electrical equipment, medicines, cars and Scotch whisky.