India’s power play
It has some of the same ingredients for progress as China had in the early 1990s, including positive demographics and advantageous purchasing power parity conversion rates
SO FAR in 2025, markets have had plenty to absorb: the Trump administration’s tariffs, Germany’s latest investment commitments, the implications of the DeepSeek moment, and escalating military conflicts (now including one on the India-Pakistan border). Amid all of this, much could have been overlooked – notably, the trade agreement between India and the United Kingdom announced on May 6.
Finalised after three years of negotiations, it is the most significant bilateral trade deal the UK has secured since leaving the European Union (EU).
The agreement aims to eliminate tariffs on 99 per cent of Indian exports to the UK and reduce tariffs on 90 per cent of UK goods entering India, with most becoming tariff-free within a decade. Notably, tariffs on British automobiles entering India will fall from 100 per cent to 10 per cent, and tariffs on whiskey entering India will fall from 150 per cent to 75 per cent now and 40 per cent over the next 10 years.
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