INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
A MAJOR REALITY OF BREXIT IS
THAT IT IS AN ANTI-EMIGRANT
POLICY BUILT ON XENOPHOBIC
AND RADICALISED POLITICAL
SENTIMENTS. THIS MAKES IT VERY
HARD FOR THE SOCIAL CLIMATE
TO BE OPEN AND WELCOMING TO
INDIAN BUSINESSES AND PEOPLE.
free market. With Brexit, this incentive is no longer
at play, forcing Indian businesses to reconsider
their choices. Currently, more than 800 Indian
companies operate in the UK, and employ over
1,10,000 people but the reality of a no-deal Brexit
has already begun to erode their position.
Most recently, the Tata Group, one of the
largest Indian businesses in the UK, began
scaling down its operations. The biggest hit
was the Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land
Rover, which is the largest British car-making
operation. Companies such as Rolta, Bharti
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I APPAREL I
June 2019
Enterprises, Aegis Outsourcing, and many
pharmaceutical companies are other major firms
that have invested in the UK and are now in
the reconsideration phase. This is due to many
reasons related to Brexit, such as the falling
power of the pound and the subsequent socio-
political impacts.
A major reality of Brexit is that it is an anti-
emigrant policy built on xenophobic and
radicalised political sentiments. This makes it
very hard for the social climate to be open and
welcoming to Indian businesses and people. And
while there may be an opportunity for financial
deals that improve trade terms, it is unlikely that
it will enable Indian businesses to truly integrate
with the national climate in the UK. Given this
reality, the practical choice for Indian businesses
is to emphasise on exports and favourable trade
terms which tilt the balance of trade in India’s
favour. This, however, is still a challenge as Indian
imports of goods from the UK have skyrocketed
(with a 19.3 per cent rise) in 2018.
THE INDIA-EU POTENTIAL
India and the EU have been in trade talks since
2007. Over the course of the last 12 years,
the nature of these discussions has changed
radically. The last moment for true development
was in 2013, when discussions around an India-
EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) fell apart after six
years of planning. And for the longest time after
that, the talks seemed to have stalled. However,
in the wake of 2016, new possibilities emerged as
the EU became more interested due to the UK’s
departure and the on-going rise in the EU-India
trade without an FTA in place over the previous
10 years.
In fact, trade between the EU and India has
nearly doubled over the last decade, establishing