India and Britain will sign a free trade agreement on Thursday during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's UK visit, officials said, with New Delhi to ease tariffs on British whisky, cars and some food items, and the UK offering duty-free access to Indian textiles and electric vehicles. The pact, concluded in May after three years of stop-start talks, should boost bilateral trade by removing numerous barriers and granting each country greater market access to the other. It will take effect after the British parliament and India's federal cabinet approve it, likely within a year. "This is a significant agreement," Vikram Misri, India's foreign secretary, told reporters on Tuesday, adding that legal vetting of the deal was near completion ahead of Modi's four-day trip to the UK and Maldives. Trade
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the Philippines will pay a 19% tariff rate following the conclusion of a trade deal with the United States. "It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19% Tariff," Trump said after Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos visited the White House.
A mini trade deal between India and the United States is unlikely before the August 1 deadline, news channel CNBC-TV18 reported on Tuesday citing sources.