India should not agree to free cross-border data flows under proposed FTA with UK: GTRI
The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said that India should not agree to free cross-border data flows under the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK as ownership of national data is crucial for developing public services. It added that India should never agree to binding commitments in these areas as it will lock the country's policy space in the future.
GTRI said this FTA marks a transformative shift in India's approach to trade, moving its focus from the east to the west, and broadening its scope to include non-trade matters such as environment, labour, gender, digital trade, and data governance. The talks between the two countries for the agreement are at an advanced stage and both the sides are expected to announce the conclusion of talks by the end of this month.
The think-tank said subjects like labour standards, gender, environment, and digital trade have been included in the FTA on the UK's request and India should make domestic rules/standards before taking commitments in the agreement on these matters. It also said that India should not agree to stop preferential treatment to domestic suppliers in the government procurement chapter of the trade pact as allowing the UK companies to sell goods and services to the government here would bring British firms at par with domestic entities. On the other hand, it said Indian firms face “a very” competitive and restricted government procurement market in the UK with little business prospects and due to this, India needs be conservative and careful.
