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Trade Deals · FTAs

Trade Deals · FTAs

After signing a cluster of trade agreements between 2005 and 2011 (with Singapore, ASEAN, South Korea and Japan), India went almost a decade without a major new deal — and in 2019 it walked out of the China-led RCEP. Since 2021 it has changed course dramatically, sealing comprehensive agreements with the UAE (2022), Australia (2022), the EFTA bloc (2024, in force 2025), the UK (2025), Oman (2025), New Zealand (2025) and the EU (2026). The counter shows the cumulative number of trade agreements — counts vary by definition.

IMO: 9784295 Name: MAERSK HANOI General vessel type: Cargo - Hazard A (Major) Detailed vessel type: Container Ship Navigational Status: Acti
IMO: 9784295 Name: MAERSK HANOI General vessel type: Cargo - Hazard A (Major) Detailed vessel type: Container Ship Navigational Status: Acti · Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
UK CETA
First FTA with a G7 nation (2025)
$100 bn
EFTA investment pledge
6
Major FTAs signed
Trade agreements (cumulative)
Trade agreements
YearTrade agreements
201410 cumulative
201510 cumulative
201610 cumulative
201710 cumulative
201810 cumulative
201910 cumulative
202010 cumulative
202111 cumulative
202213 cumulative
202313 cumulative
202414 cumulative
202516 cumulative
2014
0cumulative
Trade agreements
20142025
Since 2014
Added
+6 cumulative
2014
10 cumulative
2025
16 cumulative

Why it matters Trade agreements cut tariffs on Indian exports, open new markets for farmers, MSMEs and IT, and tie India into 'China Plus One' supply chains — economic diplomacy in action.

  • After a near-decade pause, India sealed 7 comprehensive deals in 2021-2026: UAE, Australia, EFTA, UK, Oman, NZ, EU
  • India-UAE CEPA (2022): bilateral trade nearly doubled to $100+ bn in 3 years
  • India-UK CETA (2025): 99% duty-free access; EFTA pledged $100 bn investment
  • Walked out of RCEP (2019) over China-competition fears
  • Road ahead: raising low FTA utilisation (~5-25%) and helping MSMEs actually use the deals
  • Source: Ministry of Commerce / PIB
Photo is of Miami container port (NOT Long Beach, CA). Original description by CBP: "Checking cargo coming into the U.S. by ship requires go
Photo is of Miami container port (NOT Long Beach, CA). Original description by CBP: "Checking cargo coming into the U.S. by ship requires go · James R. Tourtellotte · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Cargo ship Primero - 02327462 - moored at Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg
Cargo ship Primero - 02327462 - moored at Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg · Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
"Susan Borchard" (IMO: 9436197, MMSI: 305445000) at Barcelona container terminal 06/10/2011
"Susan Borchard" (IMO: 9436197, MMSI: 305445000) at Barcelona container terminal 06/10/2011 · Matthew Gee · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Het containerschip 'Cosco Belgium' wordt vanuit het Beerkanaal gesleept door de twee sleepboten 'RT Adriaan' de 'SD Stingray' (Kotug) naar d
Het containerschip 'Cosco Belgium' wordt vanuit het Beerkanaal gesleept door de twee sleepboten 'RT Adriaan' de 'SD Stingray' (Kotug) naar d · Frans Berkelaar · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

India signed a first wave of trade pacts between 2005 and 2011 — Singapore, Sri Lanka, ASEAN, South Korea and Japan. Then came a long pause: for almost a decade India signed no major new deal, and in November 2019 it walked away from the China-led RCEP, wary of a flood of cheap imports. The freeze broke in 2021.

The new wave

Since 2021 India has moved fast: Mauritius (2021, its first with an African nation), the UAE CEPA (2022, negotiated in just 88 days), Australia's ECTA (2022), the EFTA TEPA (signed 2024, in force October 2025, with a $100 billion investment pledge), the UK CETA (2025, 99% duty-free access), Oman (2025), New Zealand (2025) and the landmark EU deal (2026). A US interim framework followed in early 2026.

What the deals do

The agreements cut tariffs on Indian textiles, gems, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals and processed food, and increasingly open mobility for Indian professionals, students and workers. India-UAE trade nearly doubled to over $100 billion in three years; the UK deal targets doubling trade to $112 billion by 2030. Dairy and sensitive farm products were deliberately kept out to protect farmers.

How it works

A free-trade agreement is a negotiated deal where two countries cut tariffs and ease rules on each other's goods, services and investment — so an Indian exporter faces lower duties abroad, and foreign firms find India easier to enter. India, historically cautious about FTAs, now negotiates them selectively: protecting sensitive sectors (like farming and small cars) while opening others (textiles, gems, services), and using each deal as a template for the next.

Outlook

After years of caution, India signed a wave of deals — the UAE (2022), Australia (2022), EFTA (2024, with a $100 billion investment pledge) and, landmark of all, the UK CETA (2025, its first with a G7 nation, aiming for $100 billion in trade). The next step is making the deals work harder — closing the big one still pending with the EU, and helping exporters (especially MSMEs) actually use the duty-free access these agreements unlock.

The road ahead

The next step is making the deals work harder — raising low FTA utilisation (5-25%) so more exporters and MSMEs actually use them, and fixing inverted-duty structures at home.

By the numbers

~7 comprehensive deals signed 2021-2026 (UAE, Australia, EFTA, UK, Oman, NZ, EU); UAE trade ~$100 bn; UK target $112 bn by 2030; FTA utilisation 5-25%. Source: Ministry of Commerce / PIB.

Source: Ministry of Commerce / PIB — cumulative FTAs/CEPAs; counts vary by definition (signed vs in force, FTA/CEPA/PTA).