UK set for TRADE BOOST after Brexit, former Indian ambassador warns
FORMER Indian diplomat Dinesh K. Patnaik said Britain can look forward to an increased commercial relationship with India once the country is rid of the trading policies imposed by the European Union as he said the UK can expect a "great relationship" with India.
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Former deputy High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik suggested Brexit will benefit the "great relationship" Britain has with India.
Discussing the impact of the withdrawal from the European Union at a meeting in Oxford, Mr Patnaik insisted British trade with the East Asian nation would enjoy a boost once EU trade policies are lifted.
Mr Patnaik said: "Economically and commercially we have a great relationship with the UK. The UK is the third, sometimes fourth, largest investor in India, India is the third largest investor in the UK. We are actually the second largest job creator.
"Right now all that we do with the UK goes through the prism of the EU which means if we have to discuss on trade relations we have to discuss with the EU, we don’t discuss with the UK.
"If we have to discuss non-tariff barriers we discuss it with the EU. If we have to do sanitary and phytosanitary issues, it is the EU regulations which matter rather than the UK regulations.
"So if you look at all this, any increase in the bilateral trade or any increase in the investment relationship are not kept hostage – that’s not the right word – but are actually dependent on what the EU thinks rather than what the UK thinks."
The British Government signalled that after Brexit it would launch into a new campaign to strengthen ties with Commonwealth members.
Theresa May travelled to India in April to woo Prime Minister Narendra Modi into laying the groundwork for a series of commercial deals worth around £1 billion.
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Investment would also increase because wherever trade doesn’t reach is where investment reaches
Mr Patnaik continued: "What we are looking at is, in a post-Brexit scenario, it will be us and the UK deciding how we want to increase our trade or not increase our trade.
"That would mean, according to a study done by the Commonwealth, there is an increase of about 15-20 percent bilateral trade between both countries.
"Investment would also increase because today, wherever trade doesn’t reach, is where investment reaches."
Immediately after Brexit, the UK will seek to simply replicate the current EU-India trade deal before moving forward with a bespoke bilateral deal.