The Commerce Ministry conducts a meeting with stakeholders from the textiles, leather, and footwear sectors regarding India-UK relations.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry organized a stakeholder meeting in New Delhi, bringing together representatives from the textiles, leather, and footwear sectors to explore the advantages of the India–United Kingdom (UK) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal, highlighted that the agreement creates transformative possibilities for these sectors, improving competitiveness and exposure in the UK market. Mr. Sunil Barthwal, Secretary of the Department of Commerce, emphasized that the elimination of tariffs under CETA and the empowerment of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will promote inclusive growth and job creation. Important institutional and industry participants, including the Council for Leather Exports (CLE), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and several Export Promotion Councils, engaged in the discussions with representatives from the Ministry of Textiles and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). CETA provides Indian textiles and leather products with duty-free entry into the UK market, tackling previous duty disadvantages of as much as 12%. This is anticipated to advantage key textile hubs like Tirupur, Jaipur, Surat, Ludhiana, Panipat, Bhadohi, and Moradabad, while enhancing India’s leather and footwear exports to the UK—from Rs. 4,288 crore (US$ 494 million) in 2024 to INR. 8,681 crore (US$ 1 billion) in a span of three years. The deal boosts the global status of Geographical Indication (GI) items such as Kolhapuri shoes and Mojari within the UK's Rs. The leather market is worth 75,524 crore (US$ 8.7 billion).