India's FTA Export Performance and Utilization

India's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) strategy has evolved from expanding agreement networks to maximizing market access utilization, supported by record export performance. In FY 2025-26, combined merchandise and services exports reached US$ 863.1 billion, including merchandise exports of US$ 441.8 billion. The momentum continued into FY 2026-27 with April-June 2026 combined exports estimated at US$ 232.73 billion, representing an 11.37% increase from the corresponding period last year.

Key FTA Market Performance

FTA partners constitute significant markets for Indian merchandise exports. The UAE was India's largest FTA export destination at US$ 37,359.11 million in FY 2025-26, followed by ASEAN countries (US$ 38,416.33 million across the group) and SAFTA nations (US$ 25,774.68 million across the group). Other major FTA export destinations included the United Kingdom (US$ 13,444.19 million), Singapore (US$ 11,863.66 million), Nepal (US$ 7,447.11 million), Australia (US$ 7,284.17 million), and Malaysia (US$ 6,825.55 million).

Success Stories of Recent FTAs

The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), implemented on 1 May 2022 after record 88-day negotiations, drove bilateral trade to cross US$ 100.06 billion in FY 2024-25 with 19.6% growth. This success led to a new target of doubling trade to US$ 200 billion by 2032. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), effective from 29 December 2022, saw India's exports grow from US$ 4 billion in FY 2020-21 to US$ 7.28 billion in FY 2025-26, representing over 80% growth. Australia provided immediate zero-duty access across 98.3% of tariff lines, with all Indian exports eligible for zero-duty access from 2026 onwards.

Export Facilitation Measures

Preferential Certificate of Origin (CoO) issuance has grown significantly, indicating robust utilization of tariff concessions. The UAE CEPA and Australia ECTA generated large volumes of origin certification, while newer agreements showed strong early uptake: the EFTA TEPA generated 7,885 CoOs after October 2025 implementation, and the Oman CEPA issued 783 CoOs following June 2026 implementation. Government facilitation measures include the e-CoO 2.0 system providing end-to-end digital issuance with Aadhaar-based electronic signatures and QR-code verification. Simplified rules under newer agreements allow self-declaration of origin (India-EFTA TEPA and India-UK CETA), waive origin documentation for consignments below £1,000 (UK agreement), and permit multiple qualifying products in a single CoO (India-Australia ECTA). The Trade Connect platform complements these measures with its Tariff Explorer and guidance services.

Product and Market Diversification

Product diversification is evident across recent FTAs, with exported tariff lines increasing by 6.7% in UAE (from 7,546 to 8,053 lines), 5.0% in Australia (from 5,396 to 5,668 lines), 20.9% in Mauritius (from 3,593 to 4,345 lines), and 17.08% in Oman (from 2,879 to 3,371 lines within one month). Recent agreements provide substantial market access: India-UK CETA offers duty-free access for nearly 99% of Indian exports, India-Oman CEPA covers 98% of Oman's tariff lines, India-EFTA TEPA covers 92.2% of tariff lines representing 99.6% of India's exports, and India-Australia ECTA provides duty-free access across 100% of Australian tariff lines. Labor-intensive sectors including textiles, agriculture, processed food, leather, footwear, marine products, gems, jewellery, carpets, and handicrafts benefit significantly from expanded market access.

Services Sector Opportunities

Services exports stood at US$ 421.3 billion in FY 2025-26, accounting for nearly 30% of India's employment. Recent FTAs have expanded opportunities through key commitments: India-New Zealand FTA provides a dedicated pathway for up to 5,000 skilled Indians across IT, engineering, healthcare, education, construction, AYUSH, yoga, culinary arts, and music for up to three years, plus commitments across 118 services sectors and MFN treatment across 139 sectors. India-EU FTA covers 144 services sub-sectors with provisions for business mobility, dependant rights, five-year Social Security Agreements framework, and student mobility opportunities. India-UK CETA includes mobility provisions for IT, healthcare, finance, and education professionals, with a Double Contribution Convention preventing dual social-security payments and estimated savings exceeding ₹4,000 crore. Other agreements provide enhanced access to 128 sub-sectors in Switzerland, 114 in Norway, 110 in Iceland, 107 in Liechtenstein (India-EFTA TEPA), and commitments across approximately 135 services sub-sectors with MFN treatment in 120 sub-sectors (India-Australia ECTA).

Future Trade Agenda

India is widening its future trade agenda with approximately ten trade agreements under discussion, including new negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union, Peru, Chile, Israel, Canada, and Maldives. Existing agreements such as the India-Korea CEPA and India-Sri Lanka ETCA are being upgraded to deepen economic integration and market access.