India Concludes Major FTA Talks with UK, EU; More Pacts Underway

India has signed or concluded FTA negotiations with the UK, Oman, New Zealand, and the EU, with some pacts set to be operationalised in the coming months to create fresh export opportunities, the Union Commerce Ministry has announced.

India has signed or concluded negotiations for multiple major free trade agreements (FTAs), including with the United Kingdom, Oman, New Zealand and the European Union, while negotiations are also underway with countries such as Canada, Israel, Australia, and Peru, as per the Union Commerce Ministry. The Ministry shared a presentation during the release of April 2026 trade data on Friday.

Addressing a briefing, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said India is also moving towards operationalising some of the recently concluded FTAs in the coming months, which could create fresh export opportunities. "We are looking forward to operationalization of some of these FTAs in the next two months, and as these FTAs get operationalized, that will also add more opportunities for our exporters," Agrawal said.

Key Agreements Concluded

The ministry presentation showed that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement, the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the India-New Zealand FTA have been signed, while negotiations for the India-European Union FTA have been concluded.

On the trade agreement between India and the UK, Agrawal said both sides are close to operationalising the agreement, though some issues related to recent UK steel measures are still being worked out. "We are very near to operationalizing that. There are a few sticking points. As you are aware, UK has come ahead with the steel measure recently, which was not factored in while negotiating the India UK FTA. We are working together to find a unique creative solution," the Commerce Secretary said.

Ongoing Trade Negotiations

The presentation also highlighted ongoing trade negotiations with several countries and regions. Talks for the India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) have completed 11 rounds so far, while negotiations for the India-Sri Lanka Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) resumed in 2023 after being put on hold in 2018. Negotiations are also underway for FTAs with Peru, Chile, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Israel and Canada, according to the presentation.

India-US Trade Discussions

On the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), Agrawal said discussions between the two sides are continuing, and the next round of talks is expected next month. The Indian team had visited the US last month, and they had very good discussions. We expect US team to visit us soon. The dates for the same have not yet been finalized, but I expect it will happen soon, not in this month, but somewhere in the next month," he said.

He also said India has engaged with the United States on Section 232 and Section 301 investigations. Section 232 is a provision under US trade law that allows Washington to investigate whether imports threaten its national security and impose tariffs or trade restrictions if required. Section 301, meanwhile, deals with investigations into alleged unfair trade practices or policies of other countries and can lead to retaliatory tariffs or other trade measures by the US government.

"We have engaged with the US on the Section 232 and 301 investigations. Submissions have been made in that direction. We have joined the consultations which took place yesterday in the US on these investigations," Agrawal said.

Boosting Exports and Managing Imports

Talking about the trade data released by the ministry, the Commerce Secretary said India's export promotion efforts and new FTAs would play a key role in achieving the country's USD 1 trillion export target. "Export promotional mission will play an important role. It is now a more data-driven and evidence-based support that we have provided to the export ecosystem," he said. He added that shifting global supply chains amid global uncertainty could also create opportunities for Indian exporters.

Commenting on the recent hike in import duty on gold and silver, Agrawal said the move could reduce imports of the precious metals. "There will be some impact in terms of lower import of gold and silver," he said. (ANI)

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