The New Global Trade Order: Crispin Simon, HM Trade Commissioner for South Asia

HM Trade Commissioner for South Asia, Crispin Simon, will join Asia House corporate members on Thursday 10 May for a private briefing.

The briefing will take place following Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK ahead of the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. India is a key trading target for the UK post-Brexit, and a number of MoUs and agreements were signed during the visit, including new UK-India Trade and Tech partnerships, an increase in health and research partnerships, and a commitment to strengthening military ties, such as in cyber security. Modi’s visit to the UK was his second in three years and followed UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s trip to India in late 2016.

India has been in talks with the EU since 2007 about a free trade agreement (FTA), though there has been little progress over the last five years. After Brexit, the UK will seek to replicate any EU-India FTA in place, but given demands for visa concessions from India, any bespoke agreement will be difficult for the UK to negotiate.

Mr Simon has been in post since November 2017. As Trade Commissioner, he leads all of the Department for International Trade’s work in South Asia, which includes building the bilateral trade relationship with the region. He was formerly Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment, and has previously worked for McKinsey and NM Rothschild.

Mr Simon will discuss these developments with Asia House corporate members, and will examine the UK’s prospects for developing trade with the South Asian region.