Britain, India sign major trade deal

Britain and India officially signed a free trade agreement on Thursday during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Britain at Chequers, the country house of the British prime minister, following the initial announcement made in May.

The British government said that India's average tariff on British products will decrease from 15 percent to 3 percent. Under the terms of the agreement, tariffs on whisky and gin exported to India will be halved from 150 percent to 75 percent, with a further reduction to 40 percent over a decade. Meanwhile, British automotive tariffs will decrease from over 100 percent to 10 percent, subject to a quota.

In return, 99 percent of Indian exports to Britain will face zero tariff.

According to the British government's statement, the agreement will create over 2,200 jobs across Britain and will stimulate sectors including aerospace, technology and advanced manufacturing.

"Thanks to the deal, British workers will enjoy a collective uplift in wages of 2.2 billion British pounds (2.98 billion U.S. dollars) each year and could also see cheaper prices and more choice on clothes, shoes and food products," the government said in a press release.

According to the British government, the deal is expected to "increase bilateral trade by nearly 39 percent in the long run, equivalent to 25.5 billion British pounds a year, when compared to 2040 projected levels of trade in the absence of an agreement."