Rishi Sunak has hinted he will slow down progress on the India trade deal to improve its terms, saying the UK should not “sacrifice quality for speed”.
The comments, which preceded talks with the UK prime minister’s Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, at the G20 on Wednesday, suggested a marked change of approach from Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, who prioritised speed and hard deadlines, having pledged a “deal for Diwali” that did not materialise.
His remarks come after an intervention by the former environment secretary George Eustice, who criticised the trade deal with Australia signed by Truss, saying it was “not actually a very good deal for the UK” and criticised her for having set “arbitrary targets” for the conclusion of an agreement.
Eustice also criticised the UK negotiator Crawford Falconer, now the interim permanent secretary at the Department for International Trade, saying “his advice was invariably to retreat and make fresh concessions and all the while he resented people who understood technical issues greater than he did”.
Sunak is understood to want to improve terms for the UK services sector via the India deal, however there are tensions within the UK government over the extent to which the UK should offer visa liberalisation.
Sunak proffered an olive branch on visas on Tuesday night by giving the green light to 3,000 two-year visas for Indian young professionals, a deal that was part of the original memorandum of understanding with India.
The home secretary, Suella Braverman, is said to have irritated Delhi with an interview in the Spectator, in which she said she had “reservations” about Britain’s trade deal with India because it could increase immigration to the UK.
Braverman said Indian migrants made up the largest number of visa overstayers in the UK and criticised her predecessor Priti Patel’s deal with Dehli aimed at facilitating migration last year, which she said had “not necessarily worked very well”.
Sunak, who sat next to Modi during the leaders’ lunch at the G20 summit, told reporters a trade deal with India was a “fantastic opportunity” but suggested it was not the only topic for discussion.
“I wouldn’t sacrifice quality for speed,” he said. “And that goes for all trade deals. It’s important that we get them right rather than rush them, and so that’s the approach I’ll take on trade deals.
“The other thing with India: remember that the trade deal is just one part of a broader relationship we have, which is incredibly strong and indeed strategic and happens across multiple different aspects of policy. Trade is an important part of it but it’s not the only part, and we’ll be making progress in all of them.”
No 10 said the UK would agree to a bespoke, reciprocal route to give young professionals from the UK and India a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in a professional and cultural exchange.
Sunak said his focus at the summit had been on the Indo-Pacific, which included meetings with Modi and Indonesia’s Joko Widodo, as well as with the US president, Joe Biden, and China’s president, Xi Jinping.
“The Indo-Pacific is increasingly crucial for our security and our prosperity. It is teeming with dynamic and fast-growing economies, and the next decade will be defined by what happens in this region,” Sunak said before the meeting.
“I know first-hand the incredible value of the deep cultural and historic ties we have with India. I am pleased that even more of India’s brightest young people will now have the opportunity to experience all that life in the UK has to offer – and vice versa – making our economies and societies richer.”
