India, Britain step up trade talks

India and Britain will aim to more than double bilateral trade in a decade, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday, as the two countries resumed trade talks under the shadow of tariff threats from US President Donald Trump.

The countries would speed up talks on a proposed trade deal, including a free trade pact and an investment treaty, Goyal said at a joint press conference with Britain's Business and Trade Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds.

The ministers did not respond directly to questions about whether their talks were impacted by Trump's orders to raise tariffs and take other measures to counteract what he sees as barriers to American goods.

Their joint statement said the resumption of trade talks had come out of discussions between their prime ministers on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November - an event which took place in the run-up to Trump's inauguration. Reuters