President 's Column: Trade deal IS moving ahead�

What a pity that reports of the Prime Minister 's visit to Indian have been dominated by the domestic drama over “partygate ”, writes Jason Wouhra.

You have to try to cut through the fog of that controversary to find much news about the negotiations around the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the UK and Indian but it is encouraging that Boris Johnson has said he wants a deal done “by the autumn ”.

In this post-Brexit era like it or not, it is imperative that we push ahead with negotiations with all speed.

While there is no India-EU FTA, the tariffs facing India and the UK in each other's markets will remain high. Tariffs on UK exports into India are estimated to be around 14.8 per cent on average, while Indian exports into the UK face tariffs of around 8.4 per cent on average.

In my role as chair of the West Midlands India Partnership (WMIP), we have seen a huge increase in Indian investment in the West Midlands and one of the successes in which we played a part was bringing the Norton Motor Cycles headquarters to Solihull.

What a fitting move that was with Norton, having been founded in Birmingham in 1896, returning to their roots in the West Midlands after being acquired by the TVS Motor Company, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

We have to make the UK as attractive as possible through a competitive tax regime, the employment landscape and the general attraction of working here. And important to that is promoting the high business standards in the UK through corporate governance and legal standards that give potential investors confidence.

Key among any agreement is the Prime Minister 's assertion that he was open to the possibility of accepting Delhi 's demands for more immigration to the UK to help fill the “hundreds of thousands ” of IT vacancies. Given the recruitment difficulties being felt in all fields in the Greater Birmingham region this is, indeed, good news.

My business is not an exception and I would take immigrants from anywhere at the moment, particularly those from the Ukraine.

A deal has the potential to almost double UK exports to India, boost our total trade by as much as £28 billion a year by 2035, and increase wages across the UK by up to £3 billion.

The UK wants an agreement that slashes barriers to doing business and trading with India 's £2 trillion economy and market of 1.4 billion consumers, including cutting tariffs on exports such as British-made cars and Scotch whiskey.

This trade deal can unlock a new era of partnership and pave the way for significant trade and investment opportunities for UK and Indian businesses.

Removing duties alone would increase exports to India by up to £6.8 billion, supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the UK. Important UK exports like Scotch whiskey and cars currently face enormous duties of 150 per cent and 125 per cent respectively.

We will further cement UK-India trade links when Indian businesses and investors come to the West Midlands during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games followed by a mayoral-led delegation to India in the autumn to promote opportunities for bilateral trade and investment.

Key areas will include tech and creative, professional services, future mobility and the data-driven healthcare sectors.

Fifty-seven per cent of Indian investment into the UK in 2020 was made in the West Midlands. The region is home to 76 recorded Indian foreign direct investment worth more than £3.5bn in the future mobility, creative technologies and modern business service sectors, employing over 13,000 people.

Cost of living

WHILE much of the blame for the current cost of living crisis, I believe, can be laid firmly at Brexit 's door, the Russian invasion of the Ukraine is pushing up prices in my business at an alarming rate.

With Russia and the Ukraine among the biggest wheat producers in the world, the conflict is causing prices to soar.

Food prices generally have gone up by 200 per cent and 20 kilos of wheat flour are now costing between £12 and £16 - up from £8 four months ago. And oil, because of Ukraine 's huge sunflower production, is now costing £50 for 20 litres compared with £15 pre-invasion.

Business will understandably, of course, be forced to pass on the bulk of these increases to the customer and it 's difficult to see when this trend will be reversed.

While war rages in the Ukraine, there is no prospect of a fall and with grain production badly hit, fields will not be maintained properly causing even further delays

And Brexit and the global situation have bred an uncertainty that is having a widespread negative impact on investment in this country, among many other factors. Take my experience on exports, for instance - since Brexit, they have gone from about 10 to15 per cent of the business to nil.

The red tape being imposed is overwhelming and Europe generally is making everything more difficult, especially in sourcing stock. While accepting that there is no going back on the Brexit, we will now have to cope with the consequences and ensure we capture FTA deals across the globe. Only then will the UK retain a competitive edge on a level playingfield.

Ukraine

With television pictures of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are bringing the war into our homes in horrifying detail, we can only despair at the level of human suffering as families attempt to flee the gratuitous brutality of continual bombardment by Russian forces.

I will consider offering work to any displaced people who find themselves in our region. The irony is that in the current climate of recruitment difficulties in the UK, where local people are reluctant to work in some jobs, many opportunities for jobs with prospects are available.

Jason Wouhra is president of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce, chair of the West Midlands India Partnership and chief executive of Lioncroft Wholesale Ltd T/A East End Wholesale.