How Starmer-Modi friendship makes premium UK products cheaper in India:Luxury cars, whisky and gin prices to reduce

The landmark India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), officially known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), was signed under the leadership of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who resigned on Monday, 22 June, 2026. The agreement was officially signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to London in July 2025. Starmer-Modi friendship: Starmer’s cordial relationship with India has given huge benefits to both the countries. According to the terms and conditions of the CETA, a lot of UK imports would become cheaper in India, giving citizens access to premium quality products at comparatively lower prices. By how much luxury cars become cheaper? Under this agreement, the import duty on large cars that are Completely Built Units (CBU) coming from Britain will be reduced from 110% to 30% in the first year. By the 5th year, this duty will be reduced to just 10%. This rule will apply to models with petrol engines above 3,000cc and diesel engines above 2,500cc. Jaguar Land Rover cars become cheaper Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) India had already reduced the price of its most premium SUV Range Rover SV, imported from Britain, by ₹75 lakh, after which its ex-showroom price had fallen to ₹3.5 crore. Earlier, its price was ₹4.25 crore. This reduction was made even before the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between India and Britain. The company had also reduced the price of Range Rover Sport SV Edition Two by ₹40 lakh to ₹2.35 crore. What CETA entails? Under the CETA, 99% of Indian exports will enter the British market at zero duty, while tariffs on British products, such as cars and whisky, would be reduced in India in a phased manner. India-UK trade size: CETA aims to double the $56 billion (₹5.18 lakh crore) trade between the two economies by 2030. Trade Terms What will become cheaper in India? The average tariff on UK imports will reduce from 15% to 3%. 85% of goods will become completely tariff-free within 10 years. Here’s what will become cheaper: 1. Whisky and Gin Tariff on Scotch whisky and gin will reduce from 150% to 75% Will further decrease to 40% by the tenth year of the agreement Example: A scotch bottle worth ₹5,000 will cost ₹2,800 2. Luxury Cars Tariff on UK cars (like Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce) is scheduled to be reduced from 110% to 10% under the quota system Cars could become approximately 48% cheaper