Goyal urges firms to use India-UK trade pact to double trade by 2030 at JETCO

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday, October 12, 2026, urged Indian and British businesses to use the new India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to double trade between the two countries by 2030. He was speaking at the business plenary of the 16th India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), the first meeting of the committee since the trade agreement came into force. Goyal noted that only about 1,500 days remain until the end of 2030, and both sides restated the doubling target under their India-UK Vision 2035 framework. Goyal also said India's trade pacts with the UK and the European Union should encourage global carmakers to set up manufacturing units in India.

A trade agreement only matters if businesses use it. The CETA lowers tariffs and sets rules for trade in goods and services between India and the UK, but companies on both sides have to learn the new terms, adjust supply chains and find buyers before the benefits show up in trade figures. By using the first post-agreement JETCO to press businesses directly, the government is signalling that it now wants the deal to translate into actual orders.

The arithmetic shows how big the task is. Doubling trade of about £48 billion by the end of 2030 means growing it by about 15 to 16% a year, far faster than the 5.7% rise in the latest four quarters. That kind of jump would need new sectors to open up, larger investments and quick uptake of the agreement's tariff cuts, not just steady growth in existing trade.

The five focus areas suggest where both governments see the biggest openings. Technology, advanced manufacturing and healthcare offer openings for Indian firms selling to Britain, while financial services, clean energy and consumer goods offer British companies routes into India. Goyal's remark about carmakers adds another angle: with tariff concessions to both the UK and the EU, India is pitching itself as a base where foreign automakers can build vehicles for the domestic market and for export.

For Indian exporters, especially smaller firms, the practical next step is understanding the rules of origin and tariff schedules in the CETA, so that they can claim the lower duties they are now entitled to.

Short-term: Industry bodies and exporters are likely to step up outreach on how to use the CETA's tariff and services provisions, especially in the five priority sectors.

Long-term: If the doubling target is met, India-UK trade would approach £100 billion a year by 2030, with more two-way investment in manufacturing, technology and finance.

Who is affected: Indian exporters and service providers selling to the UK, British companies entering India, automakers weighing Indian production, and workers in sectors that gain from new orders.

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