London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Rishi Sunak rips up Boris Johnson’s trade deal playbook

Rishi Sunak rips up Boris Johnson’s trade deal playbook

New prime minister is opting to wait for more wins from trade talks rather than the headline-grabbing deadlines favored by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

Rishi Sunak is tearing up his predecessor’s trade rulebook by prioritizing depth over speed in the country’s post-Brexit deals.

The U.K. prime minister is avoiding the headline-grabbing deadlines favored by both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, and is opting instead to wait for more wins from trade talks, according to Britain’s allies and people close to negotiations.

The new strategy is being brought into sharp focus in talks with India, people briefed on the negotiations say. Sunak — who is expected to hold his first face-to-face talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines the G20 summit Wednesday — is holding out for an agreement that delivers more for Britain’s largest sector: services.

Sunak is also taking his time when it comes to joining the 11-nation Indo-Pacific trade pact CPTPP, say some of Britain’s trade allies. Accession to the bloc and a final deal with India aren’t expected now until early to mid-2023, sailing past deadlines set by Sunak’s predecessors.

When it comes to the India deal, Sunak has his own reasons for taking things slow, and may face more scrutiny of his approach than either Johnson or Truss as the U.K.’s first British-Indian prime minister, and with family ties to an Indian IT services empire.

He will, said a person briefed on the U.K.-India talks, “need to avoid accusations that he has signed a deal that favors India, so will negotiate harder and possibly longer to get a deal that is balanced and which he can defend as pro-U.K.”

As a former top finance minister and an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, Sunak is also planning to do more for Britain’s financial services and its services sector generally, the same person added. In the run-up to a now-abandoned Diwali deal deadline set by Johnson and Modi, services firms had been increasingly alarmed at the state of the talks.

Winning big for the services sector will be no easy task, however, with provisions that boost the sector seen as most difficult to get in a deal because they would need India to drop protections on personal data, and require tricky joint ventures and reform of federal regulations.

The Indian government “see a constructive friend and partner” in Sunak, the person said, “but recognize that he will negotiate the best deal possible for the U.K.”


‘One-sided’


Britain has gotten used to signing its deals at breakneck speed since gaining the right to set its own trade policy post-Brexit.

As trade secretary in the Johnson administration, Truss sealed from-scratch free-trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and expanded a pact with Japan. In each case, negotiations took more or less a year. For most countries, trade negotiations typically take several years. But the flurry of activity came as ministers worked to score deals in record time in order to prove a Brexit dividend.

As trade secretary in the Johnson administration, Liz Truss sealed from-scratch free-trade deals with Australia and New Zealand


The latest British prime minister has already made it clear he has reservations about the U.K.’s approach to date.

Over the summer, Sunak, who represents a rural constituency, branded the U.K.’s agreements with Australia and New Zealand "one-sided." Britain's farming sector has expressed concerns over both deals, amid fears cheaper imports will undercut domestic producers. The U.K. insists safeguards within the deal offer protection to the industry.

“It’s not rocket science … our farming communities are an incredibly important part of our country," Sunak said. He also argued the U.K. "shouldn't be rushing to sign trade deals as quickly as possible."

It’s already been something of a rollercoaster ride for the India deal, seen by ministers as a totemic post-Brexit win for Britain if it gets over the line.

Truss, Sunak’s immediate predecessor who lasted just 45 days in office, was on track to strike a pact with India by the Diwali deadline. But she resigned just days before it could be struck. Britain’s political upheaval and comments by Home Secretary Suella Braverman warning about Indian immigration threw talks off course.

Services firms are now being told to expect more from the India agreement. Trade Minister Greg Hands and Britain’s chief negotiator on the deal with India, Harjinder Kang, told attendees at a London conference late last month that negotiators are keen to include provisions on establishing data flows and to allow British services firms, such as legal and financial services, to operate in India without the need for a local partner.

“I’m hopeful that we will get a better free trade agreement by not rushing it,” said the outgoing Lord Mayor of the City of London Vincent Keaveny, pointing out “there was always a danger” elements would be left out of the deal as a result of the Diwali deadline.

Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch defended the Diwali deadline at the Tory Party conference in October


Negotiators now “have a better chance of getting progress with India on services,” he said, including on thorny issues like the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and access to India’s market for the British legal sector.

“He knows the City, he understands the City, he knows the importance of the City," Keaveny said of Sunak. “I would hope that coming with the background that he does, he will understand that promoting the sector, working with us on the priorities for the sector, will be important for the good of the country."

Dominic Johnson, a financier who briefly served as Truss’ investment minister, told POLITICO that the deadline-setting approach to talks tends to weaken Britain’s position.

"I don't know why you'd want to tie yourself to a date like that," said Johnson, a member of Britain’s House of Lords. It is, he argued, “never helpful to give yourself an artificial timeline, because then the person you're negotiating with knows you've got an unnecessary constraint around coming to a conclusion, and you want as much time as it takes.”

Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch defended the Diwali deadline at the Tory Party conference in October, insisting it was “not arbitrary” and “set quite a while ago,” despite the talks kicking off less than 12 months ago.


Getting MPs on side


While under Sunak, Badenoch won’t be focussed on securing trade deals as quickly as the Truss administration favored, said Kathryn Watson, an expert in trade policy at the consultancy Flint Global, “the U.K.’s FTAs are one of the tangible ‘Brexit benefits’ that voters are aware of and point to.”

The new government will still “want to get deals done with more economically consequential markets like India,” she said, “to show the economic benefit to U.K. business ahead of the next general election.”

Nevertheless, one person who knows the new PM well said Sunak is “a man who gets into the detail, making sure we get things right.”

With the Diwali deadline blown, the U.K.'s Department for International Trade officially says it’s still sticking to other deadlines in place, including getting the U.K. signed up to CPTPP by the end of 2022 — a target set when Truss was trade chief.

Yet Sunak’s focus is first on calming the political and economic instability in the U.K. so that he can get restive Tory MPs on side to support CPTPP accession, said a diplomat from one of Britain’s trade allies.

If he has to wait until later in 2023, they said, “that's fine.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
×