Parliament Question: Free Trade Agreements

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 337 ANSWERED ON 21/07/2026 FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS 337. MS. PRANITI SUSHILKUMAR SHINDE: Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मत्रं ी) be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has undertaken steps to diversify India’s export markets in light of global geopolitical and economic uncertainties; (b) the details of recent and ongoing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and their expected impact on India’s cross-border trade; (c) the measures taken by the Government to address non-tariff barriers and improve market access for Indian exporters in key regions such as the European Union, Africa and Southeast Asia; and (d) the steps being taken by the Government to promote ease of cross-border e- commerce exports, including regulatory simplification and support for small exporters? ANSWER वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्रालय में राज्यमंत्री (श्री णिणिन प्रसाद) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA) (a) & (b) Government has undertaken several initiatives to diversify export markets in light of evolving global geopolitical and economic developments. These include expanding network of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Comprehensive Economic Partnership/Cooperation Agreements (CEPAs/CECAs); pursuing trade negotiations with major economies and regions to secure preferential market access for exporters; undertaking focused export promotion activities through Export Promotion Mission, Indian Missions overseas, Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), industry associations and other stakeholders; implementing district and sector-specific export promotion initiatives under the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative; and capacity-building programmes. A list of trade agreements signed in the past few years is at Annexure I. Further, a list of ongoing FTAs is at Annexure II. 1Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are entered into with the concerned trading partner countries primarily with the aim of increasing bilateral trade through enlarging the scope of market access and building on the trade complementarities for increasing trade and investment, thereby providing enhanced export potential, creating benefits for industry and farmers and enhancing job opportunities. The FTAs facilitate preferential market access for labour intensive sector products to boost growth and employment opportunities in sectors like textile, apparel and leather goods. FTAs endeavor to deliver a comprehensive, balanced, broad based and equitable agreement based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity and overall benefit to all the stakeholders. (c) The FTAs include provisions on Technical Barriers to Trade to promote mutual understanding of each sides’ standards, technical regulations, and measures to enhance transparency. These provisions facilitate smoother and more effective access to export markets for Indian goods. Government engages with its trading partners through bilateral, regional and multilateral mechanisms to address non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and improve market access for Indian exports. These includes holding regular meetings and direct talks with partners through Joint Committees and Working Groups established under trade agreements to solve specific export problems to align with emerging global requirements, consultations with partner countries to resolve market access issues, technical discussions on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT), standards, conformity assessment procedures and regulatory requirements and continuous engagement with stakeholders to identify and address market access concerns in key export destinations, including the European Union, Africa and Southeast Asia. (d) Government has undertaken various policy and facilitation measures to promote cross-border e-commerce exports, particularly for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), startups, artisans and other small exporters. Key initiatives include: (i) Export Promotion Mission (EPM): The Export Promotion Mission (EPM) was launched in 2025 to strengthen India’s export competitiveness with a total outlay of ₹25,060 crore for the period FY 2025–26 to FY 2030–31. The EPM shall operate through two integrated sub-schemes: • NIRYAT PROTHSAHAN, focused on improving access to trade finance through instruments such as interest subvention, export factoring, collateral guarantees for export credit, credit guarantee for e-commerce exporters, and credit enhancement support; and • NIRYAT DISHA, focused on other trade enablers such as export quality and compliance support, international branding and packaging, market access initiatives, export logistics & warehousing, and trade intelligence. (ii) Implementation of the E-Commerce Export Hub (ECEH) initiative on a pilot basis to create an integrated ecosystem for e-commerce exports by facilitating logistics, customs clearances and other export-related services. 2(iii) The District Export Hub (DEH) Initiative provides the district-level framework for decentralised export promotion. In each district, the effort is to identify and prioritise 3– 5 products/services with viable export potential for targeted interventions. (iv) Reforms to simplify exports through courier mode and reduce compliance burden: • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed export reconciliation requirements for small-value exports up to ₹10 lakh by permitting closure of export transactions in the Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS) on the basis of declarations furnished by exporters and reconciliation undertaken by banks. • The per-consignment value limit of ₹10 lakh for exports through courier mode has been removed vide DGFT Notification No. 67/2025–26 dated March 27, 2026 and CBIC Notification No. 34/2026 dated March 31, 2026. • CBIC Notification No. 33/2026 dated March 31, 2026 has simplified reverse logistics by facilitating the re-import of export rejects and returned goods in respect of cross-border e-commerce exports. (v) PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) was launched to facilitate data-based decisions related to integrated planning of multimodal infrastructure, thereby reducing logistics cost. (vi) Refund of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme aims to refund currently un-refunded duties/taxes/levies borne on the export product, including prior stage cumulative indirect taxes on goods and services used in production of the exported products. (vii) The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has established 65 Export Facilitation Centers (EFCs) in its field offices across the country with the aim of providing requisite mentoring and handholding support to MSMEs in exporting their products and services. (viii) International Cooperation (IC) Scheme of Ministry of MSME aims to build capacity of MSMEs by facilitating their participation in international exhibitions/fairs/conferences/seminar/buyer-seller meets abroad as well as reimbursement of various costs. ***** 3Annexure referred to in reply to Part (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 337 for answer on 21.07.2026 Annexure I India’s recent Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Sl. Name of the Agreement Date of Date of No. signing implementation 1 India - Mauritius Comprehensive Economic 22nd 1st April, 2021 Cooperation and Partnership Agreement February, (CECPA) 2021 2 India-UAE CEPA 18th 1 st May 2022 February, 2022 3 India-Australia Economic Cooperation and 2nd April, 29th December Trade Agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA) 2022 2022. 4 India-European Free Trade Association 10th March 01st October 2025 (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership 2024 Agreement (TEPA) 5 India – Oman CEPA 18th 1st June, 2026 December 2025 6 India - UK Comprehensive Economic and 24th July 15th July, 2026 Trade Agreement (CETA) 2025 7 India-New Zealand FTA 27th April Under ratification 2026 process Note: India-European Union FTA negotiations concluded on January 27th, 2026. Also, India and the United States of America have announced on 7th February 2026 that the USA and India have reached a framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade (Interim Agreement). Negotiations are ongoing. Annexure II Free Trade Agreements/CECA/CEPA/ETCA under negotiation 1. India-Eurasian Economic Union (India-EAEU) FTA 2. India – Peru Free Trade Agreement 3. India – Chile FTA 4. India – Israel FTA 5. India – Canada CEPA 6. India – Maldives FTA 7. India – Korea CEPA Upgraded Negotiation (Upgrade) 8. India – Sri Lanka ETCA (Upgrade) 9. India – Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) (Upgrade) 10. ASEAN - India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) (Review) 4