From Wimbledon towels to Scotch: What India-UK trade deal could mean for shoppers

Image source, NurPhoto via Getty Images Image caption, The trade deal could give a fillip to India's garment exports which face stiff competition from Bangladesh and Pakistan By Nikhil Inamdar BBC News, Mumbai Published 2 hours ago In the offices of Welspun Living, the Indian company that makes championship towels for Wimbledon, preparations have been gathering pace to take full benefit of the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) that came into effect on Wednesday. The home textile manufacturing giant, among India's largest, supplies bedsheets and towels to several major British high-street retailers like John Lewis and Tesco among others. "Many of these brands have been in India in recent weeks to chart a business roadmap for the next few years. We typically did joint forward planning only for our US customers, but now, with the deal, it's happening with UK clients too," Dipali Goenka, CEO of Welspun Living, told the BBC. "In fact, as we speak, our supply chain team in London is sitting in the John Lewis office." The FTA between the world's fifth and sixth largest economies removes or reduces tariffs on 99% of Indian exports to the UK and 90% of UK imports into India. The British government has called it "the UK's biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade pact" since leaving the EU, with its GDP estimated to increase by 0.13%, equivalent to £4.8bn ($6.4bn), and India's by 0.06%, or £5.1bn per year in the long run because of the deal. Labour-heavy sectors like textiles, garments, footwear, cars and marine products are counting on the agreement's implementation to spur business growth "I'm expecting our exports to the UK to now grow in double digits," Goenka said. She adds that India was at a disadvantage to countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan because their exports entered the UK duty-free through the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), while India paid 12% tariffs. But that will now change. "If you look at just home textiles, Pakistan's share of UK exports are at around 55%, whereas India's is just 6-7%. That's the gap we can finally cover." Image source, Getty Images Image caption, India and the UK began negotiating the trade pact in 2022 and formally signed the agreement in July 2026 The pact could also be a tipping point for British alcohol and spirits companies. The reduction of customs duties on Scotch whisky from 150% to 75% immediately and then gradually to 40% over 10 years is a "real shift, not a small tweak", says Avneet Singh of Modern Drinks Pvt Ltd, an import house based in the capital Delhi. How much this boosts imports will become clearer in the coming months, says Singh, though he sees momentum building ahead of the new terms of trade taking effect. "The focus has been on getting the operational side ready. That means working closely with UK suppliers to ensure certificates of origin and other trade documentation are in place, reviewing customs and compliance requirements, and co-ordinating with logisti