India-UAE bilateral FTA: Upgrades in the export basket, shows data

The share of mineral products, pearls, precious stones and metals has declined, whereas machinery and appliances have climbed to double digits

Last month, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed their first Co­mprehensive Economic Part­nership Agreement (CEPA), a bilateral free trade agreement that reduced custom duties acr­oss broad categories and is exp­e­cted to significantly enhance tr­a­de between the two countries. The UAE is India’s third lar­gest trading partner and second largest export destination after the US. But the content of trade flows between the two countries has changed in the past decade.

In recent years, trade flows have reflected the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021-22, 6.6 per cent of India’s exports landed in the UAE. Although hig­her than