Prioritise deep trade agreements

India's global competitiveness and investment appeal hinge on these agreements

It is encouraging to note that the Ministry of Commerce organised a “Chintan Shivir” last month to develop strategies and standard operating procedures for future free-trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. It is a timely initiative given that negotiations towards deeper FTAs with the European Union and the UK have seen repeated postponements of deadlines, and review of other FTAs, including with the Asean, is yet to be concluded long after initiation.

In this context, it would be useful for India to formulate its FTA strategy with a focus on core issues in deep trade agreements rather than continuing with