After the Home Secretary’s remarks regarding Indian immigrants in the UK generated outcry, Delhi may decide to renegotiate Britain’s important trade agreement with India.
Suella Braverman’s remarks last week, in which she cautioned Prime Minister Liz Truss against loosening immigration laws in any post-Brexit accord, infuriated the Modi government.
The Home Secretary said that Indian visa overstayers are already an issue and that Brexit supporters did not support an open border policy with India.
The prime minister wants to remove the quota on seasonal agricultural workers and broadband engineers and to reach a trade agreement with India within the next few months.
Boris Johnson, Ms. Truss’ predecessor, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a target of Diwali, or October 24, for concluding a trade agreement earlier this year.
However, Mrs. Braverman said to The Spectator last week that she had reservations about India’s open-borders immigration policy.
Although she allowed that “students and businesses may have some flexibility,” she said, “I do have some misgivings.” The majority of immigrants who overstay their visas in this nation are Indians, according to data on migration.
Suella Braverman’s remarks last week, in which she cautioned Prime Minister Liz Truss against relaxing immigration laws in any post-Brexit accord, infuriated the Modi government.
The prime minister wants to remove the quota on seasonal agricultural workers and broadband engineers and to reach a trade agreement with India within the next few months.
However, Mrs. Braverman said to The Spectator last week that she had reservations about India’s open-border immigration policy.
Although she allowed that “students and businesses may have some flexibility,” she said, “I do have some misgivings.” Take a look at immigration in our nation; Indian migrants make up the majority of those who overstay their visas.
Even last year, we and the Indian government came to an agreement to promote and enable stronger co-operation in this area. It hasn’t always worked out nicely. She reaffirmed her desire to reduce net migration, as stated in the EU referendum and the Tories’ previous election platform.
She said that the UK must restrict new immigration and that elder employees from the country should fill open positions.
The Times reports that Ms. Braverman, whose father’s family is from Goa, made some “disrespectful” statements that left authorities in Delhi “shocked and dissatisfied.”
In order to finalize the trade agreement, an Indian insider advised the prime minister to “dissociate” herself from the comments.
There is still a lot of goodwill, but the negotiations would be halted if certain people remain in the cabinet, an Indian government source told the newspaper.
India is making an attempt to strengthen its international commercial relations—recent agreements with Australia and the United Arab Emirates reflect this effort—in order to entice investment from businesses looking to expand outside of China.
A significant tax drop on imported automobiles will likely be positively greeted by negotiators as they work to finalize a hotly-anticipated FTA. Britain is on track to become India’s top trading partner.
Since she was appointed to the home office last month, Ms. Braverman has shown a readiness to deviate from the government’s position.
She attacked Ms. Truss at the Tory Conference in Birmingham as she struggled to get up after the chaos of the mini-Budget.
The PM’s about-face on eliminating the 45p tax rate was dubbed “disappointing” by the Home Secretary.
Mrs. Braverman, a favorite of the Right who competed against Ms. Truss for the leadership throughout the summer, added fuel to the already-flaming argument over proposals to reduce benefits in real terms.
The payments should increase in accordance with inflation, some Cabinet members have maintained.
The UK’s “Benefit Street culture,” a reference to a TV show about claimants, was criticized by Ms. Braverman in an angry speech on the conference fringe that went far beyond her purview.