The British Deputy High Commissioner to Karnataka, Chandru K. Iyer, said on Friday that the State, including its coastal belt, can benefit from the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the United Kingdom and India, which came into effect on July 15.

Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Iyer said the State has a variety of products, from marine goods to services and space technology, that could be exported to the U.K.

Under CETA, or the free trade agreement (FTA), 99% of Indian products will attract zero or minimum import duty in the U.K., while 90% of U.K. products will receive the same treatment in India.

The agreement, Mr. Iyer said, has opened vast opportunities for farmers, manufacturers and service providers in Karnataka to export their products. They have to register on the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) portal to avail the benefits of the FTA, he said.

He said India-U.K. bilateral trade is already worth £48 billion a year, having grown by over £4 billion in 2025 compared with 2024, even before CETA came into force. In the long run, the agreement is expected to boost bilateral trade by a further £25.5 billion a year, adding £5.1 billion to India’s GDP and £4.8 billion to the U.K.’s GDP.

Mr. Iyer said duty-free access to the U.K. market could benefit Karnataka’s oilseeds, spices such as pepper and cardamom, and the Byadagi and Devanoor chilli varieties. Millets, vegetables and fruit and flower exports such as coconut, mango, lime, sunflower, jasmine, and marigold could also benefit. Coffee growers would gain duty-free market access to the U.K., while tariff elimination would strengthen the competitiveness of fisheries exports from Dakshina Kannada. Agri- and food-processing hubs in Bidar, Hassan and Bengaluru Urban stand to grow further.

The IT industry would benefit from the U.K.’s Mode 1 services commitments, which enable cross-border trade in services, while districts across the State, including Bengaluru and Mysuru, could see increased U.K. interest in setting up Global Capability Centres. Reduced tariffs on aircraft parts and engines would benefit the State’s aerospace and auto industries in Belagavi, and Bengaluru and Mysuru silk could benefit from greater international exposure and export access.

With many U.K.-based universities keen to establish their presence in Karnataka, he said he would urge them to consider Dakshina Kannada and Udupi as well, as they are known as the education hub of the State.

After the signing of CETA, large U.K. businesses including Arm, NatWest, Graphcore, Rolls-Royce, Applied Computing and DSP have already expanded their footprint in Karnataka. HSBC, the U.K.’s leading multinational bank, is also looking at fast expansion into India.

Published - July 24, 2026 07:31 pm IST