India is party to free trade agreements (FTAs) and other trade agreements with many countries and trade blocs, and is negotiating with many others.
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.
Overview 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).
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.
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.
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.
Bilateral agreements
+CountryAgreement nameTypeSignedEffectiveRef.Afghanistan–India Preferential Trade AgreementPTA6 March 200313 May 2003Australia–India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation AgreementCECA2 April 202229 December 2022Chile–India Preferential Trade AgreementPTA8 March 200611 September 2007India–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership AgreementCEPA16 February 20111 August 2011India–Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation AgreementCECA8 February 20111 July 2011India–Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership AgreementCECPA22 February 20211 April 2021India–New Zealand Free Trade AgreementFTA27 April 202620 October 2026India–Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership AgreementCEPA18 December 20251 June 2026India–Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation AgreementCECA29 June 20051 August 2005India–South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership AgreementCEPA7 August 20091 January 2010India–Sri Lanka Free Trade AgreementFTA28 December 19981 March 2000India–Thailand Free Trade AgreementFTA9 October 20031 September 2006India–United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership AgreementCEPA18 February 20221 May 2022India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade AgreementCETA24 July 202515 July 2026India–United States Bilateral Trade AgreementBTATBA
Under negotiation (CEPA) (CEPA) (CEPA) (FTA) (FTA) (CEPA)
Multilateral agreements
Countries/Trading BlocAgreement nameTypeSignedEffectiveRef.Asia-Pacific Trade AgreementPTA1975 (revised November 2005)17 July 1976 (revised 1 September 2006) ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement CECA13 August 20091 January 2010ASEAN-India Trade in Services AgreementNovember 20141 July 2015ASEAN-India Investment AgreementNovember 20141 July 201541 countriesGlobal System of Trade PreferencesPTA13 April 198819 April 1989India–Mercosur Preferential Trade AgreementPTA25 January 20041 June 2009SAARCSouth Asia Free Trade AgreementFTA6 January 20041 January 2006 European Free Trade AssociationIndia–EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership AgreementTEPA10 March 20241 October 2025India–European Union Free Trade AgreementFTA27 January 2026India–Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade AgreementFTA2026 (Tentative)
Under negotiation BIMSTEC (FTA) (FTA) IBSA (FTA) Southern African Customs Union (PTA)
Abandoned proposals Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
See also Duty Free Tariff Preference
References