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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did India's free trade agreements say to each other? "Let's tariff-ically get along

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

India is party to free trade agreements (FTAs) and other trade agreements with many countries and trade blocs, and is negotiating with many others.[1]

  India
  Free-trade areas
  Agreement under negotiation

The negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates were completed in 88 days, which was the shortest time span for any free trade agreement signed by India.[2]

Overview

[edit]

There are different types of trade agreements that enable preferential market access between India and signatory countries or trade blocs - preferential trade agreements (PTA), free trade agreements (FTA), and Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreements (CECA) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA).[3]

A preferential trade agreement (PTA) involves two or more partners agreeing to reduce tariffs on an agreed number of tariff lines (products). The list of products on which the partners agree to reduce duty is called the positive list. In general, PTAs do not cover substantially all trade. The India Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement is an example of a PTA.[3]

A free trade agreement (FTA) also involves reducing or eliminating tariffs on items traded between the partner countries; however each maintains individual tariff structure for non-members. The key difference between an FTA and a PTA is that PTAs have a positive list of products on which duty is to be reduced, while an FTA uses a negative list on which duty is not reduced or eliminated. Thus, compared to a PTA, FTAs are generally more ambitious in coverage of tariff lines on which duty is to be reduced. The India Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement is an example of an FTA.[3]

Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are agreements which consist of an integrated package on goods, services and investment, as well as trade facilitation and rule-making in areas such as intellectual property, government procurement, technical standards and sanitary and phytosanitary issues. The India Korea CEPA is one such example and it covers a broad range of other areas such trade facilitation, customs cooperation, investment, competition, intellectual property rights etc. CECA/CEPAs are more comprehensive and ambitious than FTAs in terms of coverage of areas and the type of commitments. While a traditional FTA focuses mainly on goods, a CECA/CEPA provides holistic coverage of many areas like services, investment, competition, government procurement, disputes etc. Further, a CECA/CEPA looks deeper into the regulatory aspects of trade than an FTA. Due to this, it encompasses mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) that cover the regulatory regimes of the partners. An MRA recognises different regulatory regimes of partners on the presumption that they achieve the same end objectives.[3]

Bilateral agreements

[edit]
Bilateral Trade Agreements of India
  India
  CEPA/CETA/CECPA
  CECA/ECTA
  FTA
  PTA
  Under Negotiation
Country Agreement name Type Signed Effective Ref.
Afghanistan Afghanistan–India Preferential Trade Agreement PTA 6 March 2003 13 May 2003 [4][5]
Australia Australia–India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement CECA 2 April 2022 29 December 2022 [6][7]
Chile Chile–India Preferential Trade Agreement PTA 8 March 2006 11 September 2007 [8][9]
Japan India–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CEPA 16 February 2011 1 August 2011 [8]
Malaysia India–Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement CECA 8 February 2011 1 July 2011 [8]
Mauritius India–Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement CECPA 22 February 2021 1 April 2021 [8]
New Zealand India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement FTA 27 April 2026 [10]
Oman India–Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CEPA 18 December 2025 1 June 2026 [11][12]
Singapore India–Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement CECA 29 June 2005 1 August 2005 [8]
South Korea India–South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CEPA 7 August 2009 1 January 2010 [8]
Sri Lanka India–Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement FTA 28 December 1998 1 March 2000 [13]
Thailand India–Thailand Free Trade Agreement FTA 9 October 2003 1 September 2006 [8]
United Arab Emirates India–United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CEPA 18 February 2022 1 May 2022 [14][15]
United Kingdom India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement CETA 24 July 2025 15 July 2026 [16][17]
United States India–United States Bilateral Trade Agreement BTA TBA [18]

Under negotiation

[edit]

Multilateral agreements

[edit]
Multilateral Trade Agreements of India
  India
  India–EU FTA (2026)
  India–EFTA TEPA (2024)
  ASEAN–India CECA (2009) / AIFTA (2015)
  India–MERCOSUR PTA (2009)
  SAFTA (2006)
  APTA (1975)
Countries/Trading Bloc Agreement name Type Signed Effective Ref.
Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement PTA 1975
(revised November 2005)		 17 July 1976
(revised 1 September 2006)
ASEAN ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement CECA 13 August 2009 1 January 2010 [8]
ASEAN-India Trade in Services Agreement November 2014 1 July 2015 [8][22]
ASEAN-India Investment Agreement November 2014 1 July 2015 [8][22]
41 countries Global System of Trade Preferences PTA 13 April 1988 19 April 1989
Mercosur India–Mercosur Preferential Trade Agreement PTA 25 January 2004 1 June 2009 [8]
SAARC South Asia Free Trade Agreement FTA 6 January 2004 1 January 2006
European Free Trade Association India–EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement TEPA 10 March 2024 1 October 2025 [23]
European Union India–European Union Free Trade Agreement FTA 27 January 2026 [24]
GCC India–Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement FTA 2026 (Tentative) [25]

Under negotiation

[edit]

Abandoned proposals

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See also

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References

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 This article incorporates text from Free Trade Agreements Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), which is a copyrighted work of the Government of India, licensed under the Government Open Data License - India (GODL).

  1. ↑ "EU and India conclude landmark Free Trade Agreement". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  2. ↑ "India UAE Trade: India-UAE trade deal to be operationalised from May 1: Piyush Goyal". The Times of India. ANI. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "FAQ on FTA" (PDF). Department of Commerce. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  4. ↑ "India-Afghanistan PTA". Department of Commerce. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  5. ↑ "India-Afghanistan Preferential Trading Agreement Free Trade Agreement". aric.adb.org. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  6. ↑ "India, Australia sign FTA, trade likely to 'double in 5 yrs, generate 1 mn jobs'". The Indian Express. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "India-Australia FTA kicks off, nearly 96% exports get free access". Moneycontrol. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Annual Report 2021-2022" (PDF). Department of Commerce. pp. 80–109. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  9. ↑ "India-Chile Preferential Trading Agreement Free Trade Agreement". aric.adb.org. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  10. ↑ "IND-NZ FTA: India, New Zealand ink free trade agreement". The Hindu. 27 April 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "India and Oman sign Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)". Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  12. ↑ "India, Oman free trade pact comes into force". The Hindu. 1 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Free Trade Agreement" (PDF). Noida Special Economic Zone. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  14. ↑ "What is India – UAE CEPA, how it will benefit both economies?". gulfnews.com. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  15. ↑ Suneja, Kirtika. "India-UAE free trade pact comes into force". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  16. ↑ Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street; HM Treasury; Cabinet Office; Starmer, Keir (23 July 2025). "Prime Minister secures thousands of British jobs and £6 billion in investment and export wins as historic trade deal with India signed". GOV.UK (Press release). Archived from the original on 23 July 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ "India news: Landmark trade deal with UK takes effect". dw.com. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
  18. ↑ "India-US trade deal: Hope and uncertainty as Trump cuts tariffs". www.bbc.com. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  19. ↑ "India, Canada formally agree to step up talks over FTA". Hindustan Times. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "India, Chile Sign Terms For Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement". BW Businessworld. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
  21. ↑ "Trade deals: India exploring renewed negotiations with New Zealand, South Africa for new FTA deals | Mint". Archived from the original on 28 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  22. 1 2 "ASEAN-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA)" (PDF). ASEAN. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  23. ↑ Welcome to department of commerce, Government of India. "Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Governments of EFTA States - Mcommerce". Mcommerce. Archived from the original on 14 November 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  24. ↑ "'Mother of all deals': EU and India sign free trade agreement". The Guardian. 27 January 2026. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "India, GCC Agree To Pursue Free Trade Agreement; Resume Talks: Piyush Goyal". Outlook. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  26. 1 2 "India's Trade Agreements - At a Glance". www.dezshira.com. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  27. ↑ "India, Russia-led Eurasian bloc to begin negotiations on FTA soon". 27 December 2023.
  28. ↑ "Rcep Trade Agreement: India decides to opt out of RCEP, says key concerns not addressed". The Economic Times. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
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