WATCH: Jonathan Reynolds HITS BACK at claims UK-India trade deal 'betrays British workers'

Good morning to you, Mr Reynolds. And let's stay on India-Pakistan, shall we, on that escalating

tension between the two countries, obviously very concerning. Were you aware of India's

plans to strike Pakistan? No, they don't share that kind of information with us. You'll understand we've been monitoring

the situation after the appalling terrorist attack in Kashmir some days ago and might have

anticipated some kind of response, but we wouldn't expect the details of that to be shared with us, no

Could you share the details of the trade deal with the Secretary of State

I want to understand it. I'm just not sure I see the full benefits of it

Could you explain to me why we're doing or why you believe we're doing so well out of this

I could and I'm delighted to. So this is a massive deal that will benefit every part of the UK

It's the biggest trade deal we've done since Brexit. It's the best trade deal India has ever offered anybody

India is obviously a major economy, but it's growing so fast. It's the fastest growing major economy

And some examples of how this will benefit every part of the UK. So India is the biggest whiskey market in the world

We're pretty good at making that. The tariff at the minute is 150%. That halves immediately, then it falls to 40% in time

On electric vehicles, again, something we're very good at making, 110% tariff becomes 10% over time for the high-end vehicles that we specialise in

For lamb and salmon, iconic British products, it's a 33% tariff, and that goes to zero

And for services, even more exciting. So we get access to something no other country in the world has access to

which is Indian government procurement worth nearly £40 billion a year. Our own businesses can compete alongside domestic businesses in India

So for every part of the UK this means more growth higher wages more jobs more tax revenue exactly the kind of things that will make a difference to people lives and make them better off It has emerged though that Indian nationals that are moving here will no longer need to pay

national insurance contributions for three years. So you have been accused of two-tier tax

for Indian migrants. Are you betraying British workers with this deal? no absolutely not and i'm delighted to be able to clear this up unequivocally so let's be clear

if you were an indian national in the uk and you applied for a job and a british person applied for

the same job you pay exactly the same tax this is a very specific situation that we already have

for 50 other countries where if you are an indian national temporarily seconded to the uk

or a uk national temporarily seconded to india you don't pay both countries tax systems if you're

a UK citizen, you pay into ours. If you're an Indian national, you pay into theirs. It

just makes it easier to move people between companies for a short period of time. But we

would never do any deal that undercuts British workers that leads to any sort of two-tier

tax system. I say again, we have this with 50 other countries, and I don't hear many

complaints about that. I think what this is about, frankly, is people not being able to

accept this is a major benefit. Well, the biggest trade deal we've done, as I say, since Brexit

that everyone's going to benefit. We should all be getting behind this, these things that we can do together

to make every bit of the UK better off. But for British businesses with no national insurance

it's going to be cheaper, isn't it, to hire Indian workers rather than British workers

And this is at a time when the Labour government is obviously trying to get more people into work

It just seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? No, it wouldn't be the case

Just again, I say no-one is being undercut by an arrangement of this kind. It means our people pay our tax system Indian nationals pay theirs if they temporarily for business mobility purposes seconded to each other country If you were recruiting someone you pay the same taxes that are on it

Of course, even if you were transferring someone within a business, a multinational, to the UK

you still have to pay the NHS surcharge, you still have to pay the higher costs of relocating people

and it's only temporary. If you want long-term staff, you've got to recruit them in the UK and pay that

I say again, there is no impact whatsoever on the immigration system from this deal

No changes to the points-based immigration system. There are no guarantees of post-study visas that was in the public domain at one point as an ask

There's no changes in terms of visas for healthcare workers. There's a very modest change where a capped number of yoga teachers can apply for an existing visa in a way they couldn't before

I don't think we're going to be swamped, frankly, by Indian yoga instructors as a result of this

It doesn't impact the immigration system. It does impact jobs, growth, wages in every part of the UK

with a particular benefit for Scotland, the north of England and the Midlands

It's frankly exactly what we need. How are you going to deal with people who are overstaying their visas, though

Because the last set of data that we have, which is actually from 2020, from the Home Office, Indian nationals were the largest group of overstayers

by nationality at the time and concerned that that is still the case. Well, the point about people overstaying their visas and becoming illegal migrants

rather than part of legal migration is a massive issue. You've seen a significant increase, actually, in deportations of people overstaying since the change of government

The Home Office cracking on with that job. So you're right to say you cannot allow a situation where legal migrants become illegal migrants

But the kind of people we're talking about, highly skilled people coming for short-term business mobility

to be frank, that is not the problem I think we're talking about in this area

I think what we have to do more broadly is bring the immigration numbers down. They come down a fifth since the change of government but they still too high and we got to think about who is coming We got a lot of low people relatively coming to the UK I welcome talent coming to the UK but we got to orientate that much more

to the highly skilled sectors that we need, and that is part of our plans as a government

But totally recognise public concern is high on immigration. What we inherited is not a good situation or a sustainable one

We've got to bring those numbers down in a way that works with business. That's exactly what we're doing

And Jonathan, when would we begin to see changes being implemented because of this agreement? How soon would that be

Yeah, look, it takes about a year, 12 months on either side

to put fully in place the measures that the trade deal covers. That's because we've got to put through Parliament here

the changes in our tariffs. We'll have, for instance, cheaper clothing, cheaper footwear from India

as part of things that we have offered to India but benefit our consumers. And the same on the Indian side. Slightly different system there

And then for some of the tariffs, so if you take that whisky tariff, it halves immediately, and then there is a process of a time

where it goes down from 75%, the half rate, to 40%. Some things are removed immediately

The salmon and lamb tariff is removed immediately, access to procurement. So as soon as we implement the deal on either side

you start to get some of those benefits. We will see, for instance, immediately on ratification

a reduction in our tariffs paid to India of about £400 million

That rises to over £900 million over 10 years. India gets slightly less from that

because our tariffs are already lower. That's why they're seeing some other parts of the deal

to make sure it's fair and balanced. But look, good trade deals are good for both sides

This is great for the UK, for every bit of the UK, but I think it is good for both sides

Again, something we absolutely should celebrate and need more of. Well, look, great to see you so enthusiastic about this

I hope it lives up to everything that you think it will. And I appreciate your time this morning

We've got to leave it there. Thank you very much. Thank you