India's FTA Export Performance and Utilization Trends

India's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) strategy has driven significant export growth, with combined merchandise and services exports reaching a record US$ 863.1 billion in FY 2025-26. Merchandise exports alone accounted for US$ 441.8 billion of this total. 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

Among India's FTA partners, the UAE emerged as the largest individual export destination with merchandise exports worth US$ 37,359.11 million in FY 2025-26. Other significant FTA export markets included ASEAN countries (US$ 38,416.33 million), SAFTA nations (US$ 25,774.68 million), United Kingdom (US$ 13,444.19 million), and Australia (US$ 7,284.17 million). The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), operational since May 1, 2022, helped bilateral trade cross US$ 100.06 billion in FY 2024-25, recording 19.6% growth and leading to a new target of US$ 200 billion by 2032.

The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), effective since December 29, 2022, drove exports growth 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 becoming eligible for zero-duty access from 2026 onward.

Export Facilitation Mechanisms

Preferential Certificate of Origin (CoO) issuance has shown robust utilization across agreements. The UAE CEPA and Australia ECTA generated large volumes of origin certification, while newer agreements like the EFTA TEPA (operational October 2025) produced 7,885 CoOs and the Oman CEPA (implemented June 2026) generated 783 CoOs. Government support measures include the e-CoO 2.0 system for end-to-end digital issuance, Aadhaar-based electronic signatures, and QR-code verification. Newer agreements feature simplified documentation, with India-EFTA TEPA and India-UK CETA allowing origin self-declaration, and UK agreement waiving origin documentation for consignments below £1,000.

Product Diversification and Market Access

Product coverage expansion is evident across FTA markets. UAE coverage increased 6.7% from 7,546 tariff lines (2021-22) to 8,053 (2025-26), Australia grew 5.0% from 5,396 (2020-21) to 5,668, Mauritius expanded 20.9% from 3,593 (2021-22) to 4,345, and Oman showed 17.08% growth from 2,879 (May 2026) to 3,371 (June 2026) tariff lines.

Market access provisions vary by agreement: India-UK CETA provides 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; India-Mauritius CECPA covers 310 product lines; India-UAE CEPA covers 97% of UAE tariff lines representing 99% of Indian exports; and India-Australia ECTA provides duty-free access across 100% of Australian tariff lines. Future agreements including India-EU FTA (97% of EU tariff lines covering ~99.5% of bilateral trade value) and India-New Zealand FTA (100% duty-free access) await implementation.

Services Sector Opportunities

Services exports reached US$ 421.3 billion in FY 2025-26, accounting for nearly 30% of India's employment. Recent FTAs provide significant services market access: India-New Zealand FTA offers a pathway for 5,000 skilled professionals across IT, engineering, healthcare, education, and other fields for up to three years, plus commitments across 118 services sectors and MFN treatment in 139 sectors. India-EU FTA covers 144 services sub-sectors with mobility provisions for business visitors and intra-corporate transferees, plus a five-year framework for Social Security Agreements. India-UK CETA includes a Double Contribution Convention preventing dual social-security payments with estimated savings exceeding ₹4,000 crore. India-EFTA TEPA provides enhanced access to 128 sub-sectors in Switzerland, 114 in Norway, 110 in Iceland, and 107 in Liechtenstein, with Mutual Recognition Agreements in nursing, chartered accountancy, and architecture.

Future Trade Agenda

India is currently negotiating approximately ten trade agreements, including 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. This expanding network aims to support India's journey towards Viksit Bharat by 2047 by widening export participation, diversifying trade, and strengthening commercial relationships with partner markets.