Free Trade Agreements

The unbearable lightness of trade deals

India's recent flurry of FTAs is an excellent start, but it is only a start

India, Canada conclude third round of trade talks, eye deal by 2026

India and Canada concluded the third round of negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa on July 10, as the two sides look to wind up the talks this year itself. The issues that figured in the five-day talks include trade in goods, services, intellectual property, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade, among others. "India and Canada concluded the 3rd Round of negotiations for the India-Canada CEPA in Ottawa from 6-10 July 2026. The discussions witnessed positive progress across multiple negotiating tracks, reaffirming the shared commitment of both countries to conclude the negotiations in 2026, in line with the vision of the leaders," the Department of Commerce said in a social media post. The negotiations are important as the two sides have targeted to increase the bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030. In 2025-26, the two-way trade dipped 8.22 per cent to USD 7.95 billion (USD 4.

India must strengthen certification to take full advantage of UK FTA: GTRI

The India-UK free trade agreement opens market access but does not automatically translate into higher exports, and the country must strengthen standards, certification, logistics and buyer linkages to realise its full benefits, economic think tank GTRI said on Saturday. The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will come into force from July 15. "Without parallel work on standards, certification, logistics, regulatory approvals and buyer networks, much of the opportunity will remain on paper. The agreement opens the door; India must now convert access into exports," the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. Citing example, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said while food exporters need better testing, traceability and compliance with UK sanitary and phytosanitary rules;machinery and electronics firms need certification, technology and stronger buyer links. Similarly automobile exporters must meet rules-of-origin and technical requirements; and the garment,

India notifies process to claim UK FTA tariff benefits on vehicle imports

India has notified the procedure for importers to seek government approval to avail quota-based duty concessions on imports of passenger cars and goods vehicles under the free trade agreement with the UK, which will come into force on July 15. Under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), India will reduce import duties on automotive imports from about 110 per cent to 10 per cent, with quotas on both sides. India is allowing import of 3.78 lakh units of conventional-engine passenger cars, including those in the mass segment, from the UK at concessional customs duty during the first 15 years of the implementation of the trade pact between the two countries. "Procedure for allocation of Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQ) under India-UK (CETA) is notified," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said in a public notice dated July 9. It said that at the time of clearance of the import consignment, the importer in India has to produce a Certificate of Origin issued by

FTAs to help boost leather, footwear exports reach $14 billion by 2030: CLE

The Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) finalised by India will create significant opportunities for the leather goods and footwear sector, helping boost exports to USD 14 billion by 2030, CLE has said. Council for Leather Exports (CLE) Chairman Ramesh Kumar Juneja said that they are eagerly waiting for a trade pact with the US, as it is India's largest export destination. A successful conclusion of India-US agreement will secure preferential access for the sector over competing nations, he said. The FTAs with regions such as the European Union, UK, New Zealand will define the next chapter of growth for the industry, he said. "Our industry aims to make optimum use of these emerging opportunities and reach an export target of USD 14 billion by 2030, as part of an overall industry turnover target of USD 50 billion," Juneja said. He added that trade agreements with UAE, Oman, Mauritius, Australia, EFTA with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein have all aided the domestic exporters.

India-UK trade pact set to spur growth in both nations: UKIBC chief

There is already "euphoria" within industry over the possibilities opened up by the India-UK free trade agreement, and economic growth for both countries is an inevitable outcome of the pact coming into force this month, according to an industry expert. The UK-India bilateral Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was signed last year and will enter into force on July 15. Kishore Jayaraman, Group CEO of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), said he remains "very bullish" about India and the UK being a "formative force into the future" as a result of the pact. "India offers capacity and capability, so scalability for businesses that want to scale up in the Indian market just gets that much easier," Jayaraman told PTI in an interview. "I think this is a celebration for SMEs, startups, and for creative people to scale themselves through the capacities and capabilities that India offers and go to the next level of their businesses," the industry leader said. "They should b

Free trade agreements to give major boost to toy exports: Industry

The series of free trade agreements (FTAs) finalised by India, including the ones with the UK and the European Union, will give a major boost to toy exports, according to industry officials. Under the free trade agreements with the EU and UK, Indian toys will get zero duty access, Toy Association of India Chairman Manu Giota said. At present, the products face about 5-6 per cent import duty in these two markets. "These FTAs will catapult us into the major league, he said, adding that these markets account for about 16 per cent of the country's total toy exports, which stood at USD 0.35 billion in 2024. India signed a trade pact with the UK last year, and it will come into force from July 15. The agreement with the 27-nation EU is likely to be signed by December this year and may be implemented next year. Gupta, who is also the CEO of Playgro Toys India, said that huge investments are coming into the sector due to the business-friendly policies of the Narendra Modi-led ...

Textile stocks Arvind, S P Apparels surge up to 13%; log 52-week highs

The proposed UK and EU free trade agreements (FTAs) are expected to improve the competitiveness of Indian textile export, believe analysts.

Board of Trade meet on July 3 to discuss $2 trillion exports target

Piyush Goyal will chair the Board of Trade meeting on July 3 to discuss boosting exports to $2 trillion by improving FTA utilisation and cutting logistics costs

FTAs need investment teeth if India wants global capital to come in

A combined approach of an FTA with an investment protection agreement will help India re-establish its position as an attractive destination for FDI

KPR, Indo Count, Gokaldas rally up to 9%; what's driving textile stocks?

Brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services initiated coverage on 8 companies across apparel and home textiles, with Gokaldas Exports, Arvind, and Indo Count Industries as high-conviction picks.

India-UK FTA: 5-year social security payment waiver to aid 75K Indians

Indian companies operating in the UK would not have to make social security contributions for up to five years for employees they move from India to support their operations, a one which will give a major a boost to IT majors like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys. The commerce ministry said that the Agreement on Social Security or the Double Contribution Convention (DCC) will come into effect from July 15 along with the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA). The DCC "exempts Indian workers and employers from making dual social security contributions in the United Kingdom during temporary assignments. The period of exemption has been increased from 3 years to 5 years," it said. More than 75,000 Indian professionals and over 900 companies are expected to benefit, it said. The agreement, it said, will support mobility and continued social security coverage of the employees on temporary overseas assignments. "This will enhance India-UK partnerships in the servi

Chips, data centres powering India's next logistics leap: Blue Dart MD

AI, semiconductors, FTAs and airport expansion will reshape India's logistics sector, creating new growth avenues, says Blue Dart's Balfour Manuel

'Free trade pacts to boost furniture exports, domestic manufacturing'

Exports and domestic manufacturing of India's furniture sector will witness a major boost from the number of free trade agreements (FTAs) finalised by India in recent years, industry experts say. They said the duty concessions under these trade agreements would not only provide domestic players with preferential access to overseas markets but also encourage capacity expansion and fresh investments in India. India has implemented FTAs with Mauritius, the UAE, Australia, the EFTA bloc, and Oman. It has signed such pacts with New Zealand and the UK, and announced the conclusion of negotiations with the European Union. The country is also negotiating similar trade pacts with a number of other countries, including Israel, Canada, Peru, Chile, Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia), and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia). "These agreements will help us provide huge export opportunities. We have already started

Utilisation of FTA benefits low in India; compliance cost is a hurdle: GTRI

India's utilisation of free trade agreement benefits remains low at just 20-30 per cent of eligible exports, compared with 60-70 per cent by the FTA partners, due to high compliance costs and already low tariffs in partner countries, think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. It also said that Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have made the inverted duty structure issue harder to fix because many finished goods now enter India at low or zero duty from partners such as ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, the UAE and Australia. As a result, Indian manufacturers often pay high duties on imported inputs, especially those sourced from non-FTA countries, while competing against finished products imported duty-free under FTAs, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. Citing an example, it said steel and aluminium attract MFN (duty applicable for all countries) duties of 7.5-10 per cent, but machinery, industrial equipment and engineering products made from these materials can enter India duty-free under

We may roll out 9 free trade agreements in next 10 months: Piyush Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said nine recently signed free trade agreements are expected to become operational within 10 months, with several more trade pacts in the pipeline

India should audit existing FTAs to assess effectiveness: Report

After the trade deal, India's exports to the UAE have risen by $13 billion over the past four years, while imports have increased by $24 billion

India should reassess FTAs, modernise investment screening: Report

India should reassess the effectiveness of its existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), modernise its investment screening architecture, and adopt a more coordinated trade and industrial policy framework as geopolitical fragmentation reshapes global commerce, a report said on Thursday. The report said that India's economic strategy must move beyond reactive policymaking and focus on proactive integration through calibrated partnerships, stronger institutional coordination and clearer market access objectives. Among its key recommendations, the report calls on India to audit existing FTAs, assess whether they have met intended objectives, and align future trade agreements more closely with industrial and export priorities. It also recommended that India explore high-quality market arrangements and utilise multilateral institutions and bilateral investment treaties to secure greater predictability for businesses and investors. The report titled 'Resilience in a Fragmenting World: India

Titan gears up to take on global watch giants in premium, luxury segment

But Markose is also revving up in the premium and luxury segment now

UK won't undermine India FTA benefits; steel imports below quota: Leong

House of Lords member Sonny Leong says the UK remains committed to the India FTA and that steel imports are currently well below proposed quota thresholds