India, UK likely to sign trade pact next week

India and the UK are expected to sign the Free Trade Agreement ( FTA) next week, a pact which aims to boost trade and investment between the two countries, an official said.

The two countries announced the conclusion of the negotiations on May 6.

It will remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper, in a bid to double trade between the two economies to USD 120 billion by 2030.

"The process of legal scrubbing of the FTA text is going on. It is expected to be signed next week," the official said.

Once the FTA is signed, it will require approval from the British Parliament and India's Cabinet before it can take effect.

The implementation is likely to take about a year after the signing.