New Delhi, Feb. 24 -- India and the UK returned to free trade negotiations on Monday after a year's gap, offering a glimmer of optimism in a world witnessing a surge in protectionism. According to commerce minister Piyush Goyal, the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) may raise India-UK trade by as much as threefold in the next 10 years, at a time when rising tariff walls threaten to put a dampener on free movement of goods and services.

Alongside the FTA, discussions are also progressing on a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, the two sides confirmed, adding all three aim to provide a stable regulatory and investment climate.

"This will be a path-breaking free trade agreement," Goyal said at a ...