: Wednesday, June 17, 2026 10:19 PM
New Delhi. India and the United Kingdom (UK) announced on Wednesday that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will come into effect from July 15. With this, a new phase is going to begin in the economic relations between the two countries. On the same day, the agreement on social security, called the Double Contribution Convention (DCC), will also come into force. This will provide more facilities to Indian professionals working in the UK and will also increase competitiveness. According to the Commerce Ministry, the period of exemption under DCC has been increased from three years to five years. This is considered a major achievement for Indian employees working temporarily in the UK.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on ‘X’, “This is a historic achievement for India-UK relations. I am happy that the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement will come into force from 15 July 2026. This agreement will significantly boost trade and investment between the two countries.”
He further said, “This will open up many new opportunities for Indian farmers, workers, MSMEs, startups and innovators. It will also significantly contribute to achieving the goal of a developed India 2047. Prime Minister Starmer and I are extremely pleased with this new momentum in our economic relations.”
The foundation of this historic agreement was laid in May 2021, when both countries adopted the Enhanced Trade Partnership and India-UK Roadmap 2030. Its objective was to take the relations between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership and take the mutual trade to 100 billion dollars by 2030.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said, “The simultaneous implementation of CETA and the Double Contribution Convention from July 15, 2026 will create huge opportunities for India’s exports. Long-standing duty barriers will be eliminated with immediate duty-free access to 99 per cent of our tariff lines.”
He said that this will provide a level playing field to Indian sectors like textiles, leather, marine products, engineering and processed foods and they will be able to sell their high quality products in the global market without any loss.
CETA with 30 chapters is being considered as a new model of new generation trade agreements. This directly supports India’s vision of ‘Developed India 2047’.
This agreement is not limited to just reducing import-export duties. It also covers modern areas such as digital trade, telecommunications, financial services, intellectual property rights and government procurement at the bilateral level for the first time.
According to the ministry, the simultaneous implementation of CETA and DCC will bring about a major and structural change in India’s global trading system. India has also ensured the security of sensitive sectors like dairy products, cereals, millets, edible oils, oilseeds, apples and many vegetables.
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Web Title-India-UK Trade Agreement to Come into Effect on July 15; Major Boost for Indian Exports and Professionals