Parliament Question: Progress in Trade Deal Negotiations

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3768 ANSWERED ON 12/08/2025 PROGRESS IN TRADE DEAL NEGOTIATIONS 3768. SHRI NAVEEN JINDAL Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री) be pleased to state: (a) the progress made in the negotiations of trade agreements with various countries and the expected benefits of these agreements; (b) the measures being taken to address the significant trade imbalance with certain countries and the Government's perspective on the impact of these trade imbalances; and (c) the Government's assessment of the impact of trade wars and geopolitical tensions on India's trade and commerce sector and the measures being taken to mitigate these risks? 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) The Department of Commerce is engaging in negotiations and reviews on trade agreements on an ongoing basis. During the last five years, the Government has signed the following trade agreements:- Sl. Name of the Agreement Date of Signing of Date of Implementation No. the Agreement of the Agreement 1 India - Mauritius Comprehensive 22nd February, 2021 1st April, 2021 Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) 2 India-UAE CEPA 18th February, 2022 1st May 2022 3 India-Australia Economic 2nd April, 2022 29 December 2022. Cooperation and Trade Agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA)4 India-European Free Trade 10 March 2024 Will be implemented after Association (EFTA) Trade and completion of ratification Economic Partnership Agreement process by India and the (TEPA) EFTA countries. 5 India-UK Comprehensive 24 July 2025 Will be implemented after Economic and Trade Agreement completion of ratification (CETA) process by both sides. A list of ongoing negotiations is given at Annexure. Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are entered into with the concerned trading partner countries primarily with the aim to increase the bilateral trade and economic growth by enlarging the scope of market access and building on the trade complementarities for increasing trade and investment, thereby providing enhanced export potential, generating benefits for industry, farmers, MSMEs and creating job opportunities. FTAs are negotiated with the endeavour to deliver a comprehensive, balanced, broad-based and equitable agreement based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity. It also ensures a level playing field for Indian exporters vis-a-vis their competitors in the trading partner countries. (b) & (c) The Government has taken various proactive measures aimed at enhancing domestic capacities, boosting exports, diversifying supply chains, exploring alternate sources of imports and fostering economic resilience including mitigating adverse impact on trade, if any, due to global factors. Several key initiatives and policy measures undertaken by the Government to boost exports, attract investments and to promote ease of doing business from time to time are as follows- i. The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is implementing International Cooperation (IC) Scheme, under which financial assistance is provided on reimbursement basis to the eligible Central/State Government organizations and Industry Associations to facilitate visit/participation of MSMEs in the international exhibitions/fairs/buyer-seller meets held abroad and for organizing international conference/seminar/workshops in India with the aim of technology upgradation, modernization, joint venture etc. A new component of IC Scheme namely Capacity Building of First Time Exporters (CBFTE) has been launched in June 2022, under which reimbursement is provided to new Micro & Small Enterprises (MSE) exporters for costs incurred on Registration-cum- Membership Certification (RCMC) with EPCs, Export Insurance Premium and Testing & Quality Certification for exports. ii. Other schemes/programmes implemented by the Ministry of MSME include Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGTMSE), Micro & Small Enterprises-Cluster Development Programme (MSE- CDP), SFURTI, ZED, Incubator, LEAN, IPR, Procurement and Marketing Scheme (PMS) also assist MSMEs in boosting their export competitiveness.iii. The Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme to promote labour- oriented certain items of textiles sector export has been implemented since March 07, 2019. iv. Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme has been implemented since April 01, 2021. The budget allocation for RoDTEP Scheme for the current financial year 2025-26 is Rs. 18,232.50 crores. The benefits of the RoDTEP scheme have been extended to exports from Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) units till September 30, 2025. v. A Common Digital Platform for Certificate of Origin has been launched to facilitate trade and increase Free Trade Agreement (FTA) utilization by exporters. vi. Districts as Export Hubs initiative had been launched by identifying products with export potential in each district, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products and supporting local exporters/manufacturers to generate employment in the district. vii. The government has launched Trade Connect ePlatform on 11 September 2024. Trade Connect ePlatform is an information and intermediation platform on international trade bringing together Indian Missions Abroad and officials from Department of Commerce and other organizations to provide comprehensive services for both new and existing exporters. The Department of Commerce (DoC) is continuously engaged with all stakeholders, including industry, to advance trade and mitigate the impact of trade wars. DOC aims to promote trade and economic growth through trade promotion, FTAs, trade facilitation and remedial measures related to import and export. For the growth of India’s trade and commerce sector and to protect the interests of the domestic industry, including farmers, MSMEs, FTAs provide for maintaining sensitive, negative or exclusion lists of items on which limited or no tariff concessions are granted. In case of surge in imports and injury to the domestic industry, a country is allowed to take recourse to trade remedial measures such as anti-dumping and safeguards on imports within the period as mutually agreed to by the parties under the FTAs. FTAs include provisions on Technical Barriers to Trade to promote mutual understanding of each sides’ standards, technical regulations, and measures to enhance transparency. FTAs are addressing non-technical barriers, thereby facilitating smoother and more effective access to export markets for Indian goods. FTAs include sub-committees for review to align with emerging global requirements. *****Annexure Sl. Name of the Agreements Ongoing No. 1 India – Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Expansion of Ind-Aus ECTA) 2 India-European Union Free Trade Agreement 3 India-Sri Lanka Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement 4 India – Peru Free Trade Agreement 5 India-Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement 6 India and New Zealand Free Trade Agreement 7 India and USA Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) 8 ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) (Review) 9 India-Korea CEPA (Review)