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CTPA’s Director-General Dr Emma Meredith OBE was invited last week to join the UK Government’s business delegation to India led by Jonathan Reynolds, Secretary of State for Business and Trade and accompanied by Dame Angela Eagle, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Scotland and His Majesty's Trade Commissioner for South Asia, and British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India, Harjinder Kang.
Attending in representation of the UK cosmetics industry along with other key sectors for the UK economy including energy, banking, advanced manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, CTPA welcomes this important recognition of our industry’s place in the UK’s trade agenda, a result of our continued engagement with Government and industry.
The UK–India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) represents a significant opportunity for the cosmetics and personal care industry. Tariff reduction and the commitments to ongoing cooperation will enhance market access and create new opportunities for growth for UK brands and manufacturers. CTPA welcomes the strengthening of the bilateral ties the CETA can bring.
HMG Trade Delegation focussed on bringing the CETA to life. This was very much the tone of the UK-India Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting that took place on the first day of the delegation visit in Delhi. The JETCO was co-chaired by Rt.Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister Goyal. The JETCO was followed by the King’s Birthday Party, which offered the opportunity to meet companies who want to export to the UK and UK companies excited to export to India.
The delegation then moved to Mumbai to hear the success of the new UK-Maharashtra pilot for a new programme of engagement with Indian states, helping businesses get the full benefit of CETA, tackle trade barriers at state level, and encourage business-to-business links. The CETA Marketplace then offered the opportunity to meet UK companies already placing cosmetic products on the Indian market. It was also good to meet up with Malathi Narayanan, Secretary General of IBHA (the Indian Beauty & Hygiene Association) and plan future engagement together.
CTPA would like to thank members of staff at the British High Commission New Delhi, the British Deputy High Commission Mumbai and Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in the UK for all their help and support both on the trade trip and in its planning, and for the positive engagement on the CETA. We look forward to continuing to work with them as CETA opens up opportunities for cosmetic businesses to reach new customers in this growing market, supporting business growth, jobs and investment here in the UK.
India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is expected to become the third-largest global economy by 2031. The deal is expected to add £25.5 billion a year to trade between both countries in the long term. This visit builds on CTPA’s ongoing dialogue with Government and industry stakeholders to help cosmetic businesses benefit from the agreement. This includes working on challenges businesses face when accessing the Indian market, while keeping consumer safety central to those discussions.
